Can you get fired for calling your CEO a “rich jerk”? This company says yes

A new case in front of labor regulators could answer a question many workers might have contemplated. Can your employer fire you for speaking out against the CEO? During a hearing this month, the National Labor Relations Board—the federal agency tasked with enforcing labor law—weighed in on a case involving software company 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 employee, Bloomberg reported this week, after obtaining a transcript of the hearing through a Freedom of Information Act request. The employee in question, Denise Unterwurzacher, had been let go after a heated exchange over an announcement about a major “re-leveling” plan that would cut headcount and demote a number of employees. On an “ask me anything” meeting with employees, leadership had suggested that the restructuring would only affect a handful of employees; when employees disagr