After Nadella’s Advice on Raises, Can Microsoft Women Go to the NLRB?

It took just hours for Microsoft Chief Executive Officer Satya Nadella to apologize and retract advice he offered onstage at a conference that discouraged female employees from asking for raises. The remark, he admitted in a companywide e-mail, was “completely wrong.” A more relevant question—and to be clear, Nadella’s apology has been effective enough that there aren’t many people asking it—is whether his comments could be grounds for female employees to complain to the National Labor Relations Board.

The 1935 National Labor Relations Act restricts companies from punishing or threatening punishment against workers who take collective action. What qualifies as “threatening” is open for debate; some experts, including a former chairman of the NLRB, think Nadella’s remarks are grounds for employees to seek intervention by the federal labor watchdog.