A legal update by Amy Angel, Paula Barran, and Valerie Berg of Barran Liebman, details that the NLRB (National Labor Relations Board) attempted to institute a “new rule requiring most employers to post a Notice describing employee rights” but that such efforts have been hindered due to pending legal challenges. However it continues its efforts to inform workers of their rights.
With regard to the right of the worker “to act together for their mutual aid and protection, even if they are not in a union,” the NLRB has launched a new page on their site. This new section discusses protected concerted activity, a term used to describe the employee protection against an employer’s retaliation. It also features stories about workers who have taken part in protected concerted activity.
Barran Liebman identifies three questions one must ask about employee activity to identify it as such.
- Is the activity concerted? (Generally, this involves two or more employees acting together to improve wages or working conditions, or an employee acting on behalf of others.)
- Does the activity seek to benefit other employees? (Individual gripes are not protected.)
- Is the activity carried out in a way that results in the loss of protection? (The law does not protect employees who act maliciously, with violence, or in ways that are deliberately injurious to an employer’s legitimate interests.)