Software Engineer's Firing Ruled Illegal in a Rare Win for a Tech Worker

ytpete•about 3 hours ago

A US administrative labor law judge judge found that software maker Atlassian had illegally fired an engineer after she pushed back against manager layoffs and other policy changes.

> The ruling found that the engineer, Denise Unterwurzacher, had a federally backed right to make such comments because she made them as part of a collective effort to aid or protect co-workers.

> The judge ordered the company to reinstate Ms. Unterwurzacher to her former job or an equivalent position, and to make her whole financially. It is one of the most significant outcomes in years in a case involving the labor rights of a tech worker.

Atlassian said it planned to appeal the ruling, however.

exabrial•about 2 hours ago

> Atlassian said it planned to appeal the ruling, however.

I think it'd be cheaper to keep her at this point. I'd tell your lawyer's egos to take a chill pill.

fhdkweig•about 2 hours ago

I am not a lawyer, but if they don't appeal and win, it will set a precedent that they'd (and other companies) have to pay out on any other employees fired for this reason. That will cost them more in the long run.

gruez•about 2 hours ago

Trial courts can't set precedents. Only appellate courts can.

newaccountman2•about 2 hours ago

It's not the lawyer's decision, it's the client's

antonvs•about 2 hours ago

> Atlassian said it planned to appeal the ruling

To me this reads as: Atlassian says it doesn’t want customers.

Happy to oblige. Our $100 million startup moved off Atlassian recently, and we couldn’t be happier.

nemomarx•about 2 hours ago

In these cases where they have to rehire someone, does the employee usually stay after? Wouldn't the workplace be kinda hostile now with the manager who fired you?

triceratops•about 1 hour ago

Unlikely it was the person's direct manager who made the call to fire them. I would normally assume this person won't be up for a promotion for a long time. And they'd need to do everything by the book going forward.

On the other hand they've shown everyone they have backbone and that Atlassian ss petty and engages in illegal retaliation. So the company may be forced to be on its best behavior with this person in the future.

dinkleberg•about 2 hours ago

Yeah I can't imagine that playing out particularly well. Maybe at a company as large as Atlassian it is feasible enough to stay isolated. But I'd think the relationship is tainted from both sides at this point and doesn't favor either party.

imustbeevil•about 2 hours ago

I don't know about other companies, but I don't really interact with my manager outside of 1 on 1s like once a quarter. Also, it's never his choice to fire someone, it's always from above. I'm sure if he was forced to lay someone off he'd be just as happy as they are to have them back.

antonvs•about 2 hours ago

A lot of companies have 1 on 1s weekly.

imustbeevil•about 1 hour ago

That sounds like a nightmare. Aren't iterations 2 weeks? What is happening on a weekly basis that a manager needs to check in that often? How do they have time to do that with with 10+ subordinates?

My 1 on 1s are like, have I made enough progress in the last 6 months to get a raise or not. That answer isn't changing week to week.

theamk•about 1 hour ago

https://archive.is/YkrVy

matchbok3•about 2 hours ago

Her comments were very unprofessional and unproductive. She will lose on appeal. No worker has a right to distract the company like she did.

Software Engineer's Firing Ruled Illegal in a Rare Win for a Tech Worker

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