Like other tech firms scrambling in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic, Facebook is encouraging staff worldwide to work from home, part of a so-called social distancing strategy to slow the new coronavirus’s spread. But some in the social network’s army of contract workers, already often treated like second-class employees, have complained that they have no such luxury and are being asked to choose between their jobs and their health. Discussions from Facebook’s internal employee forum reviewed by The Intercept reveal a state of confusion, fear, and resentment, with many precariously employed hourly contract workers stating that, contrary to statements to them from Facebook, they are barred by their actual employers from working from home, despite the technical feasibility and clear public health benefits of doing so.

The discussions focus on Facebook contractors employed by Accenture and WiPro at facilities in Austin, Texas, and Mountain View, California, including at least two Facebook offices. (In Mountain View, a local state of emergency has already been declared over the coronavirus.) The Intercept has seen posts from at least six contractors complaining about not being able to work from home and communicated with two more contractors directly about the matter. One Accenture employee told The Intercept that their entire team of over 20 contractors had been told that they were not permitted to work from home to avoid infection. A Facebook spokesperson told The Intercept that “for both our full-time employees and contingent workforce there is some work that cannot be done from home…for content reviewers, some of this work must be done from the office for safety, privacy and legal reasons,” adding that “we’re exploring work from home options on a temporary basis, and have already enabled it in some locations.” The spokesperson added that Facebook is “taking additional steps to limit contact for those in the office, like physically spreading people out, limiting in-person meetings, eliminating social visitors, making changes to food service, increasing office cleaning and encouraging people who don’t need to be in the office to stay home.” In some cases, workers said they’ve been told that the only way they can stay home is by using the finite paid time off days they’re allotted each year.

“Most people here are sick, coughing, and sneezing. The office ran out of Clorox wipes.”

“Despite guidance from Facebook,” reads one contractor post, “contractors are being asked to come into the Mountain View office to work, unless they have been diagnosed with SARS-CoV-2.” This employee added that “We are being told that if we choose not to come in, whether it be for health concerns or out of an abundance of caution, that we will have to use PTO, and it’s unclear if our absence is going to be counted against us.” Some of the contract workers in question are moderators, tasked with reviewing the most graphic and traumatizing content across Facebook’s apps. Large tech companies have for decades relied on two distinct tiers of workers: full-time employees lavished with generous pay and perks, and contractors with far fewer benefits who, like many American workers, can count on little job security even as they are pinched by rising housing and health care costs. Decisions about who is allowed to work from home underscores this divide: While Facebook has said it will “allow anyone whose job allows them to do so to voluntarily work remotely” through at least April 10, posters in the employee forum said that Facebook contracting vendors are enforcing very different policies. According to a post from an Austin Facebook contractor, Accenture “is only sending home people who ‘exhibit flu like symptoms in the work place.'” This contractor added that they “just saw 3 people get sent home and we’re all still in the office trying to focus on our work like cross contamination doesn’t exist for 14 days prior to symptoms showing up…At this point, I’m at a loss.”