Most employers are aware that under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), it is unlawful for an employer to prohibit employees from discussing wages among themselves, or to threaten an employee with discharge if they engage in such discussions.
Recently, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) took that premise one step further, finding that
On December 11, 2014, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) stoked the fire that has been building around issues related to employees’ use of company e-mail for non-work-related issues. It did so when it held that the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) supports an employee’s right to use an employer’s e-mail system for non-business purposes,
Most employers are aware that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act protects individuals from harassment and discrimination, and further protects them from filing claims alleging such harassment or discrimination. However, many employers are not aware that Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) also protects employees who attempt to garner support for
In another of the increasingly frequent decisions by the National Labor Relations Board critical of employers’ policies and handbook provisions, a Board panel recently determined that the confidentiality rule included in an employer’s “Code of Business Conduct” was overly broad and restricted employees’ right to engage in concerted activities, a restriction in violation of Section
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is an arm of the U.S. Department of Labor, and is the federal agency charged with the enforcement of legislation related to the health and safety of workers.
OSHA’s primary enforcement tool is the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (OSH Act). Section 11(c) of the OSH
Like many employers, Hills and Dales General Hospital’s employee policies included provisions prohibiting “negative comments” about fellow team members, and precluded engaging in “negativity or gossip.” The policies further included a requirement to represent the hospital within the community “in a positive and professional manner in every opportunity.”
Recently, a three-member panel of the National
The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has ordered a non-unionized hospital to rescind Code of Conduct provisions prohibiting “Verbal comments or physical gestures directed at others that exceed the bounds of fair criticism” and “Behavior . . . that is counter to promoting teamwork,” finding those prohibitions to be unfair labor practices. William Beaumont Hospital
A car dealership’s prohibition on “pins, insignias, or other message clothing which are not provided to them by the company” was deemed overly restrictive and a violation of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). Boch Imports, Inc., NLRB, Case No. 1-CA-83551, January 13, 2014.
Beginning in December 2011, Boch Imports, Inc., doing business as Boch
By now, most employers are aware of a number of “Facebook Firing” cases, in which individuals who were fired for Facebook postings have been reinstated after the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) found the postings to have been “protected concerted activity” under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). However, on May 8, 2013
Recent court decisions related to employees’ online postings have centered on whether disciplinary decisions regarding those postings may violate the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). The NLRA protects certain employee “concerted activities” aimed at discussing or improving working conditions, and precludes interference with such communications, including online messages. However, individuals also have brought other legal
