New NLRB Guidelines to Interpreting Employee Handbooks

On June 6, 2018, the General Counsel of the National Labor Relations Board published a memo regarding employer handbook policies. On December 14, 2017, the NLRB issued a new guidance based on the cases in The Boeing Company, 365 NLRB No. 154. This memo is important in determining whether language contained in an employee handbook would give rise to an Unfair Labor Practice.

In Boeing, the Board analyzed previous decisions regarding the legality of employee handbook rules. Following the board’s decision Boeing, the General Counsel of the NLRB has created a guide to help understand and apply the new rules which stem from this decision. A new standard evolved from Boeing involving balancing the potential impact of the rule on the rights of employees against the employer’s justification for implementing a rule.
The decision creates three categories “work rules” may fall under:

• generally, rules in the first category are lawful. They include those requiring civility and authorization to speak on behalf of the employer and preclude the disclosure of confidential customer information;

• rules in the second category call for “individualized scrutiny.” Examples include those regulating off-duty conduct, confidentiality and conflicts of interest; and

• rules in the third category constitute those that remain unlawful. Examples of rules which remain unlawful include those against joining outside organizations or that require employees to keep the terms and conditions of their work confidential.

These changes are solely in regards to the rules employers may construct and include in their employee handbooks. It is important to remember that this memo merely represents guidelines. The memo is not binding. Rather, the. Memo only provides insight as to how the General Counsel will determine whether or not to dismiss charges on handbook policies without a hearing.

If you or someone you know needs help interpreting, drafting, or determining the legality of language contained in an employee handbook, contact Gilbert Law Group today.

Contributed by Nicole Mattern

EEOC: Employers, be Proactive vs. Workplace Harassment

Thirty years ago, the U.S. Supreme Court held in the landmark case of Meritor Savings Bank v. Vinson that workplace harassment was an actionable form of discrimination prohibited by Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Several examples of common harassment and discrimination that take place in the workplace are sexual harassment, pregnancy discrimination, racial discrimination, and age discrimination (under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act or ADEA). Recently, the EEOC issued a report encouraging employers to be more proactive in preventing workplace harassment.

In January 2015, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission created a Select Task Force on the Study of Harassment in the Workplace (“Select Task Force”). This Select Task Force spent  18 months examining the myriad and complex issues associated with harassment in the workplace. In June 2016, the Select Task Force  published its findings. The report calls for employers to “reboot” workplace harassment prevention methods. The report also outlines statistics, risks and administrative recommendations.

The study encourages employers to assess their workplaces for the risks associated with harassment, survey employees. Further, the report urges employers to hold accountable managers and supervisors for preventing and reacting to grievances while also actively promoting diversity.

Interestingly, the report also states that employers should be wary of “zero tolerance” anti-harassment policies that are used as a one-size fits all model. Rather, any discipline that might result from such policy violations should be proportionate to the offense.

Additionally, the report finds that employers should also consider including a social media policy that ties into their anti-harassment policies.  The downside to this however is that the National Labor Relations Board has released guidelines on drafting and updating social media policies. Some cases have held that such a policy may violate an employee’s right to engage in protected concerted activity.

In conclusion, the findings state that the name of the game is truly harassment prevention. This may prove challenging as labor and employment laws are not logical and often do not follow common sense. To this end, seeking experienced legal counsel is critical.

Should you have questions, or wish to seek counsel, call Gilbert Law Group today at (631)630-0100.

NLRB Expands Concept of Protected Concerted Activity

On April 30, 2015, the National Labor Relations Board handed down a decision which expanded upon a prior theory of protected concerted activity. It had already expanded the concept of protected concerted activity in the past by classifying communications which are “inherently concerted” despite not being designed to engender “group action.” This case was brought before the Board as a result of an employee being terminated after discussing her job security with another employee.

The concept of protected concerted activity gives employees the right to act together to try to improve their pay and working conditions, with or without a union. If employees are fired, suspended, or otherwise penalized for taking part in protected group activity, the National Labor Relations Board will fight to restore what was unlawfully taken away. Historically this concept as only applied to group action.

In Sabo, Inc., however, the Board determined that the discussion between the two employees was “inherently concerted” because job security “[is] a vital term and condition of employment and the ‘grist on which concerted activity feeds’” and concerns about job security have a powerful impact on the rest of a work force and are protected whether or not engaged in for the purpose of inducing group action. In the past, only such communications regarding wages were extended this protection. Now it is extended to job security. Employers should anticipate that the current Board will find other subjects of concern to employees to be likewise protected.

Should you be experiencing an issue involving protected concerted activity, call Gilbert Law Group today.