After Google fires workers who protested Israel deal, what are employees rights?

Dozens of Google workers who were fired after protesting the company's contract with Israel are fighting to get their jobs back. 

The situation is playing out in federal court, but it begs the question – what kind of rights do employees have when it comes to making demands of their employers? This is the same question that students on campus must ask as well as they protest across the country.

Those in the law profession as the boundaries of acceptable workplace conduct need to be clear and well-documented – now more than ever.

Deborah Brouwer is a labor and employment attorney and has seen a trend lately.

"You spend a lot of time at the office and people want to bring their opinions to the workplace. But it's tricky for the employees and the employer," she said.

After 50 employees were fired at Google for protesting a $1.2 billion deal known as Project Nimbus – where Google provides A.I. tech to the Israeli government – Brouwer said it wasn't their beliefs that got them unemployed. 

"It really wasnt the opinions that got them in trouble it was their conduct. That is sort of the line people need to think about," she said.

It has to do with legal protection. In Michigan, employees are protected for expressing opinions on religion or race, for example. There are limits to what an employee can ask of their company.

"What isn't protected is bad conduct... Bullying people, destroying desks, or threatening people so employers do have some right to control their employers' conduct even if it comes from a political opinion," Brouwer said. "Telling a company that they shouldn't invest in a company or type of business – an employee doesn't have much right or control over that and I think that is what we saw at Google."

But that doesn't mean people can't have their voices heard.

"There is nothing wrong with expressing opinions and concerns. It's that conduct, how far you take those concerns," she said. "Some states do have laws saying you can't discipline employees for expressing political views in the workplace.  Michigan does not have such a law."

Brouwer argues it's simply good business for a company to have an outlet for employees to express themselves, but it's also important to have clear communication with employees about what is or is not acceptable behavior in the work environment.

Brouwer said, given the November election, this might be something worth revisiting but stifling employees is worth considering.

"If they don't feel comfortable they will go somewhere else," she said.

It seems protests are happening nearly everywhere we turn these days. From giant tech companies to college campuses nationwide. But Brouwer said not all protests are alike.

"There is a difference from what we are seeing on a college campus and what can be expected or done at a workplace right?" she said. "There are differences. Public universities have First Amendment protections. Which private employees do not."