The federal government is investigating whether Google violated labor laws in firing four workers over Thanksgiving

Tyler Sonnemaker/Business Insider

• The National Labor Relations Board has opened an investigation into Google over the company's firing of four employees last month, according to CNBC.
• The four former employees filed a complaint with the NLRB claiming that Google fired them for attempting to unionize.
• Google has said the workers were fired for leaking company information, not union organizing.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

The National Labor Relations Board has officially opened an investigation into whether Google broke labor laws by firing four employees last month, CNBC first reported.

The company fired four engineers just before Thanksgiving, alleging that they leaked company information in violation of its policies. Those employees subsequently filed a complaint with the NLRB alleging that Google terminated them for attempting to organize a union.

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The NLRB confirmed that it opened an investigation into Google on Monday, according to CNBC. An NLRB spokesperson did not immediately respond to Business Insider's request for comment.

The four former Google engineers published a blog post last month accusing the company of "draconian, pernicious, and unlawful conduct" meant to discourage unionization.

In a statement to Business Insider, a Google spokesperson maintained that the employees were fired for violating the company's data security policies, not for attempting to unionize or for voicing complaints to the company.

"We dismissed four individuals who were engaged in intentional and often repeated violations of our longstanding data security policies, including systematically accessing and disseminating other employees' materials and work. No one has been dismissed for raising concerns or debating the company's activities," the spokesperson said.

The termination of the four employees drew widespread backlash both inside and outside of the company. Democratic presidential candidates Sens. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren both took to Twitter to criticize the firings.

The NLRB investigation will last approximately three weeks, after which the government will determine whether to take formal action against Google.

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This type of union busting is unacceptable. I say to Google: it is time to address the racism, harassment, and harmful contracts at your company and treat your workers with the respect and dignity they deserve. https://t.co/mXkrbjSXYR

- Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) November 22, 2019