A federal agency said on Wednesday that Google had most likely violated labor law when it fired two employees who were involved in labor organizing, a spokesman for the agency said... The pair were fired in November last year as Google grappled with a vocal contingent of workers who protested its handling of sexual harassment and its work with the Defense Department and federal border agencies.

... Mr. Berland had researched Google’s relationship with a firm known for its union-busting activity, and Ms. Spiers had created a digital notice that informed co-workers of their rights to organize. In a memo at the time, Google said the employees had been dismissed “for clear and repeated violations of our data security policies.”

... [T]he N.L.R.B. complaint said several of Google’s policies that prohibited workers from viewing internal documents were unlawful and selectively enforced, according to Mr. Berland and Ms. Spiers, who were briefed on the complaint, which has not been made public. Google also surveilled employees who viewed a presentation about an effort to unionize Google contractors at one of the company’s Pittsburgh offices, the complaint said.

... We’re confident in our decision and legal position,” said Jennifer Rodstrom, a Google spokeswoman. “Actions undertaken by the employees at issue were a serious violation of our policies and an unacceptable breach of a trusted responsibility.”