In a recent turn of events, the National Labour Relations Board (NLRB) of the US has officially begun its inquiry into Google’s practices following allegations of labour law violations. Four employees filed a federal complaint with the NLRB on the 5 December alleging unfair labour practices in the company.
The investigation followed after employees created an uproar and protested the Company’s move to fire Rebecca Rivers and Laurence Berland who had been placed on indefinite administrative leave for allegedly sharing sensitive information, in November.
This is the second investigation Google has been subjected to and comes in the wake of a settlement it made with the NLRB over another allegation made by a former employee. Last year, an employee filed a federal complaint saying that the Company restricted free speech and fired him for holding conservative views.
Google arrived at a settlement with the NLRB after it was made to post its list of policies for all employees to see, at its headquarters in Mountain View, California as well as its Nest Labs campus in Palo Alto, California. The current investigation can result in the Company standing in violation of that settlement.
The official probe, stretching over roughly three months, is going to look at whether Google violated any labour laws when it fired the four employees. In addition, NLRB is investigating whether Google restricts employees from forming unions.
The allegations comes right on the heels of Google’s parent company, Alphabet, getting a new leader in Sunder Pichai.
