Google Accused of Violating its Transparency Pledge

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Article from The Black Economic Council

On February 10th, the Black Economic Council, the Latino Business Chamber of Greater LA and the National Asian American Coalition will release its report to President Obama’s new Job Czar and the Department of Justice (civil rights and antitrust) regarding their complaint against Google, Apple, HP, Oracle and Yahoo. The complaint (attached) states that these companies are violating their transparency policies and legal obligations by refusing to provide their EEO-1 reports relating to their lack of Black, Latino, Southeast Asian and women employees.

Further, on February 10th at 11:00 am, fifty minority leaders and individuals with employment complaints against Silicon Valley will hold a press conference urging immediate presidential and congressional action to (a) halt the H-1B visa program, (b) require all Silicon Valley companies to be transparent and release their EEO-1 reports, and (c) where appropriate, seek the delay and/or blocking of Silicon Valley mergers until all employment discrimination issues are resolved. Press conference at Google headquarters at 11:00 am.

Google Compared to Stanford

Frequent Freedom of Information Act requests have been sent to Silicon Valley CEOs urging that they provide employment data. Twelve Silicon Valley companies, including Intel, Cisco and eBay, have provided their EEO-1 reports. The available data demonstrates that no industry may have a worse record in California in the hiring of Blacks, Latinos, Southeast Asian Americans and women than Google, Apple and Oracle. Based on data from the 12 Silicon Valley companies that publically released their EEO-1 data, the minority groups’ expert states that Google’s Black employees, for example, could be at just one percent, Latinos at two percent and women at the 20 percent level. In contrast, Stanford, located in the heart of Silicon Valley, has an entering freshman class that has 17.2 percent Latinos and 11.1 percent Blacks.

Len Canty, Chairman of the Black Economic Council, said, “Any Silicon Valley company with less than five percent Black employees should be denied H-1B visa workers until the problem is resolved since the Black unemployment rate is 80 percent higher than that for whites.”

Since up to half of some Silicon Valley companies overall employees are H-1B visa programs despite high domestic unemployment rates, the complaint urges the President’s new Job Czar, GE’s CEO Jeffrey Immelt, to provide a report to the President within 15 days as to the impact of the H-1B visa program on unemployed Americans.

The complaint also requests that the Department of Justice secure from the US Labor Department the release of all employment data from the 22 Silicon Valley companies, led by Google and Apple, that have refused to provide data. The employment data may demonstrate a “pattern and practice” of discrimination that could lead to either lawsuits and/or the slowing down of future acquisitions by these Silicon Valley companies.

As stated by Jorge Corralejo, Chairman of the Latino Business Chamber of Greater LA: “It is perplexing that 38 percent of our state’s population is Latino and companies like Google have less than four percent Latinos in their overall employment and even less among their professionals. Fifteen million Latinos in California may have to chant Google’s slogan, ‘Don’t be evil,’ to CEO Larry Page.”

The complaint also seeks congressional hearings. This includes requests that Silicon Valley congressional leaders, such as congresspersons Speier, Honda and Lofgren, as well Congresswoman Pelosi and senators Boxer and Feinstein, seek congressional investigations and a One Year Moratorium on H-1B visa applications.

Faith Bautista, President and CEO of the National Asian American Coalition, said, “On the surface, everything is well for Asian Americans at Silicon Valley since up to 50 percent of their employees are listed as Asian Americans. Sadly, up to 90 percent are improperly classified as Asian Americans but, are in fact, H-1B visa workers from abroad. The President’s new Job Czar should make this his highest priority.”

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CONTACT

Faith Bautista
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Len Canty
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Jorge Corralejo
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About the Black Economic Council (BEC)

The Black Economic Council (BEC) is a 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization created to provide Black Americans an economic platform that facilitates business formation, job creation, access to capital, home ownership, affordable housing, financial fitness and equal opportunity for employment in the workforce. The mission of the BEC is to promote the self-sufficiency of Black-American communities through structured economic development.

Contact: Andree Driskell
Black Economic Council
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