Last week the NLRB issued several significant decisions. In the press release announcing the decisions, the agency noted that most were actually issued “the week of December 10, but were issued this week following editing and formatting which is typical for the final decisions in a Member’s term.” This is a reference to Member Hayes’… Continue Reading
Category Archives: Protected activity
Subscribe to Protected activity RSS FeedCourt of Appeals Rules Employee Efforts To Take Over Editorial Control At Newspaper Unprotected By NLRA
Posted in General Counsel, NLRA, NLRB, Protected activity, Section 7, Section 8(a)(1), Unfair Labor PracticesAn issue we have discussed previously is whether all employee action that is “concerted” is also protected by the NLRA. We have seen that maliciously false statements made to third parties are unprotected. But what about when employees disagree with managerial control of the operations? How far can they press their claims? When it comes to… Continue Reading
NLRB Division, Some “At-Will” Clauses Ok
Posted in Advice, At-Will, Employer policies, General Counsel, Handbook, NLRA, NLRB, Non-Union employers, Protected activity, Section 7, Section 8(a)(1), Uncategorized, Unfair Labor PracticesThe Board’s excruciatingly close scrutiny of employer policies continues as the agency looks for opportunities to expand its juridiction by rooting out all evil lurking in handbooks and other written employment policies. The NLRB has taken the position that certain “at-will” language in handbooks, language that in various forms exists in virtually every private employer’s handbook in… Continue Reading
Update: NLRB Upholds Termination For Facebook Posting, But Nails Employer For Unrelated Handbook Policy
Posted in Employer policies, Facebook, General Counsel, Handbook, NLRA, NLRB, Protected activity, Section 7, Section 8(a)(1), Social Media, Unfair Labor PracticesThe NLRB has received a lot of attention for its actions the last couple years. One of the storms was caused by the agency’s attention to employer actions based on employee Facebook postings. More to the point, employers were not too thrilled with some things being posted by employees on the internet for the multitudes to see,… Continue Reading
NLRB: Employer’s Harassment Investigation Lawful, But Not Resulting Discipline
Posted in Decertification elections, Handbook, Leaving work without permission, NLRA, NLRB, Protected activity, Section 7, Section 8(a)(1), Unfair Labor PracticesAs the end of its fiscal year approaches (September 30), the NLRB pushes more decisions out than it has in the last several weeks. Not a whole lot are of note, honestly. There seems to be an uptick of default judgments being issued,-findings of violations of the NLRA without a formal hearing,–but it is difficult… Continue Reading
Independence Day Incrementalism: NLRB (Again) Expands On Precedent By Ruling Employer Off-Duty Access Rule Unlawful
Posted in General Counsel, Handbook, NLRA, NLRB, Off-duty Access, Protected activity, Section 7, Section 8(a)(1), Unfair Labor PracticesLast year the NLRB’s order of the day was sweeping change. That brought us the employee rights poster, the ambush election rules, and micro unions. The Board today is not acting in such a bold manner, and instead is seeking gradual change through a policy of incrementalism. We saw recently how the current Board expanded… Continue Reading
NLRB: Maliciously False Statements By Employee To Third Party Not Protected
Posted in NLRA, NLRB, Protected activity, Section 7, Section 8(a)(1), Unfair Labor PracticesA problem that has vexed employers since the inception of the NLRA is the exact contours of employee free speech under the Act. We know that employees are given a great deal of latitude to express discontent, even to the point where they can wear t-shirts identifying themselves as prisoners to customer homes. This issue generally has… Continue Reading
Court Strikes Down Portions Of NLRB Notice Posting Rules
Posted in Employer policies, NLRA, NLRB, Protected activity, Representation Elections, Rights Poster, Rulemaking, Section 7, Section 8(a)(1), Unfair Labor PracticesA federal judge in the District of Columbia handed employers a significant partial victory in the ongoing skirmish over the NLRB’s attempts to require all employers under its jurisdiction to post a notice of employee rights. As we have noted previously, the NLRB postponed the original November 14, 2011 compliance date, only to postpone it… Continue Reading
Finding Certain Facebook Activity To Be Unprotected, NLRB DismissesTwo Charges
Posted in Advice, Employer policies, Facebook, Handbook, LinkedIn, NLRA, NLRB, Protected activity, Section 7, Section 8(a)(1), Social Media, Social Media PoliciesThe interesection of social media and employee rights under the National Labor Relations Act has received a great deal of attention in recent months, including recently on this blog. Social media sites such as Facebook and LinkedIn have made it very easy for people to stay connected. With a simple push of the button, everyone in… Continue Reading
Rhyme or Reason? Trying to Make Sense of the NLRB’s Social Media Cases
Posted in Employer policies, General Counsel, NLRA, NLRB, Non-Union employers, Protected activity, Section 7, Social Media, Unfair Labor PracticesSince the NLRB’s Office of the General Counsel (“OGC”) issued the first “Facebook” complaint in American Medical Response of Connecticut, Inc. in October, 2010, dozens of unfair labor practice charges involving social media have been filed, the Acting General Counsel has identified social media cases as a priority, and gallons of electronic ink have been… Continue Reading
The Lull Before The Storm: Blizzard Of NLRB Activity Coming
Posted in Bargaining units, Duty to furnish information, Healthcare Employers, NLRA, NLRB, Protected activity, Rulemaking, Section 7, Section 8(a)(1), Section 9(b), Witness statementsThe mid-point of Summer has passed. Although the NLRB has not issued a major decision in several weeks, the agency has not been slacking off this Summer. In a typical year, August and September are the busiest months for the NLRB, because the federal government’s fiscal year ends September 30. During the final weeks of the… Continue Reading
NLRB to Healthcare Employers Facing a Strike: You Can Ask, But Employees Don’t Have to Tell
Posted in Employer policies, Healthcare Employers, Protected activity, Section 8(g), StrikesIn a 2-1 decision issued on June 30, 2011, the NLRB clarified the interplay of the statutory notice requirements of NLRA Section 8(g) with a health care employer’s right to poll individual employees’ intention to report to work during a strike and the employer’s right to enforce neutral work rules requiring patient care employees to… Continue Reading
NLRB Pokes Another Employer For Facebook Related Discharge, Issues Complaint
Posted in Protected activity, Section 7, Section 8(a)(1)The NLRB continued its efforts to poke employers who discipline or discharge employees who make disparaging comments on Facebook. According to a May 24 press release, the NLRB issued yet another Complaint against an Illinois car dealer, Knauz BMW, after it terminated a salesman for content he posted on Facebook. The press release states the salesman… Continue Reading
NLRB Issues Complaint in NY Facebook Case
Posted in NLRB, Protected activity, Section 7, Section 8(a)(1), Social MediaIn its latest effort to address social media in the workplace, the National Labor Relations Board announced in a May 18 press release that it had filed a complaint against a New York non-profit organization alleging that it unlawfully terminated five employees who complained about working conditions on Facebook. According to the complaint filed by… Continue Reading
NLRB General Counsel Allows Discharge for Inappropriate “Tweeting”
Posted in General Counsel, NLRB, Non-Union employers, Protected activity, Section 7, Social MediaEmployee use of social media remains at the forefront of issues at the National Labor Relations Board. Coming on the heels of the NLRB General Counsel’s decision to issue a complaint against an employer who fired an employee for her postings on Facebook (the first time such on-line activities were considered “protected, concerted activity” by the… Continue Reading
NLRB: Employees Dressed In Prison Garb May Visit Customer Homes
Posted in NLRA, NLRB, Protected activity, Section 7, Section 8(a)(1), Unfair Labor PracticesThese days, one can start almost any conversation about an NLRB decision with the words, “Under vigorous dissent by Member Hayes. . .” The NLRB’s recent decision in AT&T Connecticut, 356 NLRB No. 118 (March 24, 2011).pdf is no exception. In AT&T Connecticut the NLRB ruled that the employer violated the NLRA when it suspended… Continue Reading