The New York Philharmonic has been forced by an arbitrator to reinstate two players it fired over allegations of unspecified sexual misconduct, the orchestra said on Monday night.

The Philharmonic dismissed the players — its principal oboist, Liang Wang, and associate principal trumpet, Matthew Muckey — in September 2018. Both men denied wrongdoing, and the players’ union filed a grievance challenging their dismissals. The case was heard by an independent arbitrator, who found that the players had been terminated without just cause and should be reinstated.

“We are profoundly disappointed by the arbitrator’s decision,” the Philharmonic said in a statement, adding: “While we obviously disagree with the arbitrator and stand by our original actions and decisions in this matter, we will, as we must, abide by the arbitrator’s ruling and reinstate both players.”

The case was an example of how organized labor can struggle with sometimes conflicting interests as it grapples with a sharp uptick in misconduct cases in recent years. After New York City Ballet fired the star dancer Amar Ramasar in 2018 for sharing vulgar texts and sexually explicit photos of a dancer with a colleague, he won his job back through arbitration with the help of his union, to the dismay of some women in the company.