NLRB Backs Microsoft on Gaza Protest Termination

Microsoft has successfully defended its decision to terminate two employees who organized a protest at the company's Redmond, Washington headquarters. The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) recently released an Advice Memorandum that concluded Microsoft lawfully discharged the employees for violating workplace rules. The protest was over the war in Gaza and was connected to an earlier petition demanding that Microsoft sever its Azure contracts with the Israeli government.

The two employees organized a demonstration that included a walkout, vigil, speaker series, and fundraiser at the company's headquarters. However, they failed to meet the standard set by the NLRB in a previous case, Home Depot USA, Inc., 373 NLRB No. 25 (2024), which held that an employee's activity remains protected when it is a 'logical outgrowth' of group complaints about working conditions.

The Division concluded that the protest invitation's indirect link to the months-old petition was insufficient to show that an objective of the protest itself was to improve employees' lot as employees. The NLRB also rejected the employees' argument that Microsoft's relationship with Israel could harm its financial performance and indirectly affect employee compensation and benefits.

The Advice Memorandum sends a clear signal from the Board's new General Counsel, Crystal Carey, who disagrees with Home Depot and will urge the Board to overturn it in an appropriate case. This decision may have significant implications for employee activism in the workplace.