Google reaches settlement with engineers allegedly fired for workplace activism

(Image Courtesy: Reuters)

After a two-year legal battle, Google has reached a settlement with six engineers who were allegedly fired from the company for being involved in workplace activism. The terms of the settlement are under a non-disclosure agreement and four of the six workers will not be getting their job back.

As per a report by the publication Motherboard, Google opted for a settlement in the ongoing case after a court order ordered Google to release 1,507 internal documents, that outlined a plan devised by Google top executives to stop unions from forming at the company. The plan was referred to internally as "Project Vivian."

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Speaking with CNET, A Google spokesperson told the publication, "We settled the NLRB charges and associated litigation and are pleased for all sides to avoid years of legal proceedings."

"We've always supported our employees' right to speak about working conditions, and we stand by our policies that protect the security of our systems and safeguard user, customer and employee data," the spokesperson added.

Kathryn Spiers, one of the fired employees, said that this was, "about as much a victory as can be had through the NLRB," in an interview with Motherboard.

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The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) had filed its own complaint against Google in 2020, that suggested that Google had illegally spied on two of the employees before firing them and went on to say that Google violated labor laws by terminating their services.

Over the course of the legal proceedings, the NLRB managed to uncover documents from Google that laid out the plans for Project Vivian. The courts then directed Google to hand over more internal documents related to the project.