No union, no worry about NLRB? Not so fast. . .

Thanks to Ross at NLRB Law Memo for the tip to a fine article about the perils of seemingly innocuous work rules that may be held to interfere with protected employee rights — union or no union — such as a rule dealing with employees’ negative conversations about managers.

Case in point:

In Guardsmark, LLC (2005), the NLRB found that a “Chain-of-Command” work rule requiring employees to bring complaints about workplace issues directly to their supervisors violated the NLRA. The troublesome part of this rule was:

“Do not register complaints with any representative of the client.”

The NLRB interpreted this work rule to “entrench upon the right of employees under Section 7 [of the NLRA] to enlist the support of an employer’s clients or customers regarding complaints about terms and conditions of employment.” Simply put, what appeared to be an employer’s innocuous attempt to implement an internal complaint procedure and insulate its clients/customers from hearing such internal complaints, was interpreted by the NLRB as interfering with employee rights. Evidently, the NLRB believes that employees’ right to speak about their terms and conditions of employment with the employer’s clients/customers trumps the potential negative impact on the employer’s reputation and overall client/customer relations.

“It’s Time to Review Your Company’s Work Rules,” by Alan I. Model.

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