James Damore had sparked wide controversy after he authored and released a paper dismissing women as not capable of leadership versus men due to biology. Damore had filed a complaint with the NLRB.
"While much of [Damore's] memorandum was likely protected, the statements regarding biological differences between the sexes were so harmful, discriminatory, and disruptive as to be unprotected," Jayme Sophir, NLRB legal counsel, wrote Jan. 16.
Sophir also noted in her memo that Damore's boss and the human resources manager "prepared written talking points in advance." They made it very clear that Damore's firing was "based solely on the part of (Damore's) post that generalizes and advances stereotypes about women versus men."