A brand new case in entrance of labor regulators may reply a query many staff might need contemplated. Can your employer fireplace you for talking out towards the CEO?
Throughout a listening to this month, the Nationwide Labor Relations Board—the federal company tasked with implementing labor regulation—weighed in on a case involving software program firm Atlassian, which reportedly fired an engineer in 2023 for criticizing the CEO over a restructuring plan that led to job losses. The NLRB argued that Atlassian had illegally fired the worker, Bloomberg reported this week, after acquiring a transcript of the listening to by a Freedom of Info Act request.
The worker in query, Denise Unterwurzacher, had been let go after a heated trade over an announcement a couple of main “re-leveling” plan that may reduce head depend and demote a variety of workers. In an “ask me something” assembly with workers, management had recommended that the restructuring would have an effect on solely a handful of workers; when workers disagreed with that framing, it led to CEO Mike Cannon-Brookes “angrily interjecting to inform off the individuals who had been complaining,” in accordance with Bloomberg.
So as to add insult to damage, Cannon-Brookes had joined the assembly from the headquarters of an NBA workforce he co-owned. Staff shared their discontent together with his feedback in an inner Slack channel—dubbed “Outrage Notification”—the place Unterwurzacher chimed in.
“What’s up Outragers, simply dialing in from my NBA workforce’s headquarters to yell on the folks whose careers I’ve simply pummeled,” she quipped. She was fired not lengthy after, and Atlassian claimed she had “engaged in acrimonious communications and advert hominem assaults towards teammates and colleagues.”
NLRB lawyer Colton Puckett argued within the listening to that this type of speech is protected beneath U.S. labor regulation, which permits workers to protest their working situations—and “they’re allowed to take action in methods their bosses may not like,” Puckett famous.
A part of the NLRB’s argument was that Unterwurzacher’s conduct was according to the corporate’s tradition of transparency. Atlassian has waxed poetic about its “Open Firm, No Bullshit” philosophy, which is touted as one in every of its core values on the company’s website: “Openness is root degree for us. Info is open internally by default and sharing is a primary precept. And we perceive that talking your thoughts requires equal elements brains (what to say), thoughtfulness (when to say it), and caring (the way it’s mentioned).”
In interviews, Cannon-Brookes has mentioned, “We name a spade a spade, and we wish all people contained in the enterprise to try this.”
Atlassian, nonetheless, posited that Unterwurzacher’s feedback didn’t match the invoice—and due to this fact shouldn’t be legally protected. “Whereas workers are inspired to talk up about office points, they need to accomplish that in a fashion that continues to be skilled and respectful, because the regulation doesn’t defend conduct that’s abusive or gratuitously insulting,” Atlassian lawyer Troy Valdez mentioned in the course of the listening to.
“Simply because it was a CEO doesn’t excuse the conduct,” Valdez added. “It was an irrelevant private assault and insult directed at a colleague, primarily calling him a ‘wealthy jerk.’”
In an e-mail to Bloomberg, Unterwurzacher denied that she had characterised the CEO as a wealthy jerk. “My purpose has at all times been to assist my coworkers and to encourage management to strategy these adjustments, and the methods they’re communicated, with higher understanding and empathy,” she mentioned. (When reached by Quick Firm, Atlassian declined to remark, given that is a person worker matter.)
It’s not clear how the case may proceed: If it’s not settled, a ruling by the decide could possibly be appealed to federal courtroom. Whereas the NLRB can order employers to reinstate workers with again pay, the company can not compel employers to pay punitive damages.
The case can also be an attention-grabbing check of how the NLRB will rule beneath President Donald Trump, now that the company has restored a quorum and Republican majority. The company had been hamstrung after Trump ousted former board member Gwynne Wilcox in early 2025, which left the NLRB with out a quorum and unable to concern selections; that modified in December, when Trump’s new nominees had been confirmed. The brand new NLRB will doubtless curb protections for staff and unions, undoing a number of the company’s pro-labor actions beneath the Biden administration.
However past the implications for labor regulation, the NLRB’s response to this case appears to be a bit corrective in a fairly employer-friendly atmosphere. Between the financial atmosphere and the rise of generative AI, staff have ceded energy within the years for the reason that pandemic—and layoffs are piling up throughout company America, with many enterprise leaders laying blame on AI. Even firms like Atlassian that ostensibly prize a tradition of transparency appear to be main in another way, cracking down on workers who’re crucial of management.
Very like its friends within the tech trade, Atlassian is making severe cuts to its workforce: Simply this month, the corporate disclosed plans to slash head depend by 10%, impacting about 1,600 workers.
As CEOs and executives proceed to chop jobs—and, no less than in some circumstances, use AI as a convenient scapegoat—Unterwurzacher’s case could possibly be a small win for staff who’re agitating for them to guide with extra compassion.
