New NLRB Webpage Promotes Non-Union Workers’ Rights To Act Together
The National Labor Relations Board ("NLRB") has recently launched a new interactive webpage focusing on the rights of employees – regardless of union membership – to engage in protected activity. Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act ("NLRA") gives employees the right to discuss the terms of their employment and act together regarding their pay and working conditions, even if they do not belong to a union.
The webpage (http://www.nlrb.gov/concerted-activity) details over a dozen recent cases involving employees engaging in protected concerted activity where the NLRB found that the conduct of employers violated federal labor law. The specifics of each case can be viewed by clicking on different points of an interactive map and include examples of: (1) a construction crew being fired after posting a YouTube video complaining about hazardous working conditions; (2) a paramedic being fired after she criticized her supervisor in a post on Facebook, which prompted other employees to reply to her post; and (3) a customer service representative who lost her job after she discussed her wages with a coworker.
The NLRB’s purpose in creating the new webpage is to inform employees about the right to engage in protected concerted activity. According to NLRB Chairman Mark Gaston Pearce, “A right only has value when people know it exists. We think the right to engage in protected concerted activity is one of the best kept secrets of the National Labor Relations Act, and more important than ever in these difficult times. Our hope is that other workers will see themselves in the cases we’ve selected and understand that they do have strength in numbers.”
The NLRB’s new webpage operates hand-in-hand with the NLRB’s other recent initiatives, such as its focus on social media policies that may run afoul of Section 7 of the NLRA. In the last year, the NLRB issued three reports (for details, see the article "Understanding The NLRB’s Latest Guidance On Social Media Policies” ) with case examples demonstrating how specific social media policies were overbroad and unlawful under the NLRA. With the decline of union membership (falling under 7% in the private sector), it is not surprising that the NLRB is now focusing on non-union protected activity. To avoid being an example on the interactive map, employers should review their social media policies and prepare themselves for their employees’ increased awareness of their rights to act together.
Originally published in Employment & The Law – 09/05/2012
© TROUTMAN SANDERS LLP. ADVERTISING MATERIAL. These materials are to inform you of developments that may affect your business and are not to be considered legal advice, nor do they create a lawyer-client relationship. Information on previous case results does not guarantee a similar future result. Follow Troutman Sanders on Twitter.