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

Here are the basic facts of a case (Plaza Auto Center, Inc. and Nick Aguirre, Case 28-CA-022256, May 28, 2014) that has raised a question regarding the inherent conflict between “protected activity” under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) and insubordinate behavior by employees:

• Nick Aguirre became employed by Plaza Auto Center in Yuma

Under Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), employees have the right to: “self-organization, to form, join, or assist labor organizations, to bargain collectively through representatives of their own choosing, and to engage in other concerted activities for the purpose of collective bargaining or other mutual aid or protection. . . .” Section

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

The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has affirmed an April 2012 decision of the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina (Chamber of Commerce v. NLRB, D.S.C., No. 11-cv-2516, 4/13/12), striking down the National Labor Relations Board’s (NLRB) controversial notice posting rule. The rule would have required most U.S private-sector