Megan K. Mechak
Thu, 12/22/2022
On December 15, the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) reaffirmed its commitment to protecting workers from employer coercion when they are interviewed about unfair labor practices. In Sunbelt Rentals, Inc., the NLRB reaffirmed its standard, first adopted nearly sixty years ago in Johnnie’s Poultry, 146 NLRB 770 (1964), that such interviews violated the National Labor Relations Act unless the employer provided the worker with certain, specific assurances.
Before an employer questions a worker in preparation for an unfair labor practice proceeding,
The employer must communicate to the employee the purpose of the questioning, assure him that no reprisal will take place, and obtain his participation on a voluntary basis; the questioning must occur in a context free from employer hostility to union organization and must not be itself coercive in nature; and the questions must not exceed the necessities of the legitimate purpose by prying into other union matters, eliciting information concerning an employee’s subjective state of mind, or otherwise interfering with the statutory rights of employees.
The NLRB, after considering public comment, concluded that this standard effectively balances an employer’s legitimate need to defend against an unfair labor practice allegation with the employees’ statutory right to engage in protected concerted activity free of interference. According to NLRB Chairman Lauren McFerran, “Because of the strong possibility of coercion in an employer interview about unfair labor practice issues, employees need protection. This familiar, bright-line test is easy for employers to comply with and brings certainty to the administration of the Act.”
The NLRB is an independent federal agency tasked with protecting employees from unfair labor practices and protecting private sector workers’ right to join together to improve wages, benefits, and working conditions.
MSE has protected the rights of working people to form, join, and assist labor unions for over fifty years. For more information, visit https://www.mselaborlaw.com/practice-areas/labor-unions.
