On August 9, 2022, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia held that the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) had adequate justification to rule that an aluminum manufacturer (“Constellium”) violated the National Labor Relations Act (“NLRA”) by firing a worker who made a vulgar protest against the employer by writing the words “whore board” on overtime sign-up sheets — signifying the employee’s distaste for the company’s overtime policy.  See Constellium Rolled Products Ravenswood, LLC v. NLRB, No. 21-1191 (D.C. Cir. 2022). The D.C. Circuit had previously remanded the NLRB’s 2018 ruling against Constellium, holding that the NLRB must consider potential conflicts between the NLRA and anti-discrimination laws in its analysis, as Constellium’s defense to the discharge was that the employee’s vulgar post was derogatory to women and violated the company’s anti-discrimination policy.

On remand, the NLRB ruled that the writing on the overtime sign-up sheets constituted protected activity under the NLRA in protest of Constellium’s overtime procedures, and that the employee was unlawfully fired as a result of engaging in such Section 7-protected conduct.  As noted, Constellium argued that enforcing anti-discrimination laws and company policies motivated its decision to fire the employee for using gender-based profanity. The NLRB was not persuaded by this argument, finding that the underlying factual record indicated that Constellium otherwise tolerated extensive vulgarity, profanity, and graffiti in the workplace.

The D.C. Court of Appeals affirmed the NLRB’s decision, holding that Constellium’s failure to previously enforce behavioral standards against vulgar language was “fatal” to its defense that it fired the employee for his profanity, rather than in response to his protected activity.

As this recent decision by the D.C. Court of Appeals demonstrates, employers should be mindful of how they interpret and apply their own conduct policies and endeavor to consistently enforce them.  Employers should be mindful of the potential tension between employees’ protected rights under federal, state and local anti-discrimination laws and the NLRA.  The failure to consistently enforce policies and practices may result in the NLRB viewing an attempt to belatedly do so when an employee has engaged in Section 7-protected activity under the NLRA as pretextual.

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Photo of Joshua Fox Joshua Fox

Joshua S. Fox is a senior counsel in the Labor & Employment Law Department and a member of the Sports, Labor-Management Relations, Class and Collective Actions and Wage and Hour Groups.

As a member of the Sports Law Group, Josh has represented several…

Joshua S. Fox is a senior counsel in the Labor & Employment Law Department and a member of the Sports, Labor-Management Relations, Class and Collective Actions and Wage and Hour Groups.

As a member of the Sports Law Group, Josh has represented several Major League Baseball Clubs in all aspects of the salary arbitration process, including the Miami Marlins, Boston Red Sox, Los Angeles Dodgers, Kansas City Royals, San Francisco Giants, Tampa Bay Rays and Toronto Blue Jays. In particular, Josh successfully represented the Miami Marlins in their case against All-Star Catcher J.T. Realmuto, which was a significant club victory in salary arbitration. Josh also represents Major League Baseball and its clubs in ongoing litigation brought by current and former minor league players who allege minimum wage and overtime violations. Josh participated on the team that successfully defended Major League Baseball in a wage-and-hour lawsuit brought by a former volunteer for the 2013 All-Star FanFest, who alleged minimum wage violations under federal and state law. The lawsuit was dismissed by the federal district court, and was affirmed by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.

Josh also has extensive experience representing professional sports leagues and teams in grievance arbitration proceedings, including playing a vital role in all aspects of the grievance challenging the suspension for use of performance-enhancing drugs of then-New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez. Josh also has counseled NHL Clubs and served on the trial teams for grievances alleging violations of the collective bargaining agreement, including cases involving use of performance-enhancing substances, domestic violence issues, and supplementary discipline for on-ice conduct. He has played a key role in representing professional sports leagues in all aspects of their collective bargaining negotiations with players and officials, including the Major League Baseball, National Hockey League, the National Football League, Major League Soccer, the Professional Referee Organization, and the National Basketball Association,.

In addition, Josh has extensive experience representing clients in the performing arts industry, including the New York City Ballet, New York City Opera, Big Apple Circus, among many others, in collective bargaining negotiations with performers and musicians, the administration of their collective bargaining agreements, and in grievance arbitrations.

Josh also represents a diverse range of clients, including real estate developers and contractors, pipe line contractors, hospitals, hotels, manufacturers and public employers, in collective bargaining, counseling on general employment matters and proceedings before the National Labor Relations Board, New York State Public Employment Relations Board and arbitrators.

Josh has also recently served as an adjunct professor at Cornell University’s School of Industrial Labor Relations for the past two years, teaching a course regarding Major League Baseball salary arbitration.

Prior to joining Proskauer, Josh worked for a year and a half at the National Hockey League, where he was involved in all labor and employment matters, including preparations for collective bargaining, grievance arbitration, contract drafting and reviewing and employment counseling. Josh also interned in the labor relations department of Major League Baseball and at Region 2 of the National Labor Relations Board. He was a member of the Brooklyn Law Review and the Appellate Moot Court Honor Society and served as president of the Brooklyn Entertainment and Sports Law Society.