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In the Richardson, Texas, office of Genpact, a subcontractor of Meta, a Spanish-language moderator told BuzzFeed News that he must report to the office from April 2021, despite the presence of Delta and Omicron variants that have caused an increase in COVID infections. right in the US. During this time, he said, moderators who review English-language content have been allowed to rotate through the office on a three-month rotation.
“In the office … no one has nightmares,” said the moderator.
BuzzFeed News spoke with three members of Genpact’s so-called Mexico market team who described a pattern of unfair treatment of Spanish-language moderators. All of the men spoke on condition of anonymity because Genpact requires them to sign nondisclosure agreements and they fear for their jobs. He said that in addition to reporting to the office for the past nine months while his English-speaking counterpart could work from home, Spanish-language moderators were held to unrealistic performance standards and were not compensated for working in two languages, which he said meant more time. In addition, he faces pressure to regulate Facebook’s marketplace, which has long been criticized for its lack of moderation amid the threat of active COVID cases.
Genpact spokeswoman Danielle D’Angelo declined to comment on all the specific claims made by the Spanish-language moderator, including the claim that the Mexican market team was not allowed to work from home while other teams were playing.
“We want to emphasize that employee safety is our top priority and will remain so during the COVID-19 pandemic,” D’Angelo said. “Any return-to-office decisions made in accordance with client needs are made in accordance with the best safety and health practices and in accordance with local regulations. At all workplace locations, including our Richardson, TX office, we follow best-in-class safety standards, which include frequent antigen tests.
On Thursday, managers at Genpact’s Richardson site told the company’s agent that it had scrapped plans to reopen at 50% capacity on January 31 due to the Omicron variant. The Spanish language moderator said that this change does not affect him, and that he will continue to report to the office. Genpact declined to comment on when it plans to reopen, and in what capacity.
In late June, Genpact leaders sent an email to one of the English-language moderation groups allowed to play out of the office, thanking them for their “continued dedication and responsiveness.” The email said it would be back to work at home on July 26th.
A Spanish-language moderator told BuzzFeed News it did not receive the email. The day after the English moderator was told he could go home, “[managers] telling us that we are a special queue, and our work cannot be done outside the office,” said one of the moderators, noting that the Mexican market often participates in the moderation of a flood of graphic content. Facebook declined to comment on the Spanish-language moderator’s complaint, referring BuzzFeed News to Genpact – a strategy that has been around for a long time and again when dealing with the problem of people who moderate Facebook content.
Since returning to Richardson’s office, employees have grown increasingly fearful for their safety. The moderator told BuzzFeed News that 30 cases of COVID were reported to staff by management in December, and no updates have been reported since then. Meanwhile, workers say their colleagues continue to test positive for COVID, citing two cases on the first floor last week. Genpact declined to comment on the number of COVID cases at its office or how often it reports those cases to staff.
On December 22, twelve Spanish-language moderators left the office en masse after learning over the grapevine that a sick colleague might have contracted the virus. Because the workers claim that Genpact does not currently offer paid sick leave to moderators, they are using PTO to isolate themselves. Genpact declined to comment on whether moderators were granted paid sick leave.
Although named for the Mexican market, the team reviews Facebook and Instagram content posted in Spanish by users in most of Latin America as well, moderators said. In 2018, there are 84 million Facebook users in Mexico, and tens of millions more use WhatsApp. In Latino and Hispanic communities, Facebook has become a powerful vector of misinformation, shaping public perceptions on topics such as COVID, electoral politics, and Black Lives Matter. But researchers who study misinformation told the Guardian that compared to English-language posts, harmful content posted in Spanish was removed less often.
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