As a business owner, do you know which labor laws apply to nonunion companies? It’s easy to believe labor laws can only apply to union-based businesses, but that’s not always the case.
The National Labor Relations Act contains regulations applicable to nonunion businesses, and recent developments issued by the National Labor Relations Board created further guidelines.
No-access rulesMost organizations maintain an enforceable policy prohibiting employees from being on the property or a jobsite unless it is during their work shift. Some enterprises may do so in hopes of decreasing union organizing activities. However, if staff members are permitted onsite for the benefit of the corporation, such as company business or company-sponsored events, the policy would likely be stuck down as restricting team member rights to engage in concerted group activity.
According to the NLRB, a no-access rule is valid only if clearly distributed to all associates, it limits admittance only to the inside of a building and other working areas, and pertains to off-duty workers desiring entry to the facility for any reason, not just to those engaging in union activity.
At-will languageFor many years, employers have been advised by attorneys and human resource professionals to write at-will language in handbooks. Such verbiage states the manual is not a contract of employment, and either the enterprise or laborer may terminate employment at any time and for any reason. In addition, many policies note that only the president may change the at-will status of a staff member.
The 2012 position of the NLRB states the at-will directive is too broad if it says the rule may never be altered or that no one at the business may ever modify the procedure. The NLRB view is that a broad policy could be construed as forbidding employees from organizing a union and demanding bargaining, thereby hindering team member rights under the NLRA.
Confidential and social mattersLawyers and human resources staff have adhered to standard worker complaint and investigation procedures for a long time. It is common for legal counsel and human resources representatives to tell staff brought into investigations to keep the matter discussed confidential, especially pertaining to alleged financial wrongdoing or sexual misconduct.
In 2012, the NLRB declared a blanket confidentiality policy is unlawful. Accordingly, an organization must now justify, on a case-by-case basis, that a discussion is confidential.
Valid reasons include protecting a witness, guarding evidence from being destroyed, averting a cover up or preventing falsehoods in future testimony.
The NLRB also created guidelines in 2012 regarding social media policies. If associates are permitted to talk in person about subjects permitted under the NLRB, such as wages, hours and terms of employment, then laborers will probably be allowed to discuss the same topics on Facebook, Twitter and any other social media.
However, behaviors at work that are not protected from discipline, such as sexual harassment and the use of racially offensive language, will not be protected on social media, either.
The NLRB views the following as too broad: forbidding employee self identification, disallowing the use of corporate logos, general non disparagement policies about the employer, all inclusive confidentiality rules, requirements for team members to speak to management first, banning all communication with the media and being overbroad toward prohibitions of unprofessional behavior.
As 2013 begins, it is time for nonunion enterprises to audit human resources policies and procedures and ensure compliance with the NLRA and NLRB.
Lynne Haggerman, M.S., is president/owner of Lynne Haggerman & Associates LLC, a Springfield firm specializing in management training, retained search, outplacement and human resource consulting. She can be reached at lynne@lynnehaggerman.com.
