As COVID-19 makes its way across the globe, we want to ensure that our workforce has the support they need.

Last week we committed that members of our extended workforce who are affected by reduced office schedules (such as closed cafes resulting from offices moving to work-from-home arrangements) will be compensated for the time they would have worked. Today we’re making an additional commitment on sick leave.

Most members of our extended workforce around the world (like the vendors who provide important campus services or the temporary staff who work on short-term projects) have sick leave benefits, whether through required government benefits or from their employers. 

But this is not universal. For example, the United States does not have federal laws mandating paid sick leave. Last year we introduced new requirements for all companies that employ U.S. vendors and temporary staff assigned to Google, making it mandatory for them to provide their employees with paid sick leave (in addition to other minimum benefits required), in order to do business with Google. This is rolling out to their employees.

As we’re in a transition period in the U.S.—and to cover any gaps elsewhere in the world—Google is establishing a COVID-19 fund that will enable all our temporary staff and vendors, globally, to take paid sick leave if they have potential symptoms of COVID-19, or can’t come into work because they’re quarantined. Working with our partners, this fund will mean that members of our extended workforce will be compensated for their normal working hours if they can’t come into work for these reasons. We are carefully monitoring the situation and will continue to assess any adjustments needed over the coming months.

This fund will also cover last week’s commitment relating to reduced office schedules.

We know it’s an uncertain time and everyone is navigating a lot of ambiguity right now. As we all do so, we want to help everyone in our workforce prioritize their health and the health of our communities.