The Labor Law Insider | Offensive Speech in the Workplace - Part II: Drawing the Line
Only a few days after being hired by the University of Michigan’s football program as the assistant director of football recruiting, Glenn Schembechler (son of longtime Michigan head coach Bo Schembechler) resigned after his...more
Kanye West’s anti-Semitic comments on Instagram and Twitter have prompted a swift backlash by businesses formerly associated with the rap and fashion mogul. Thus far, West has been dropped by Gap, Balenciaga, Adidas, talent...more
You DO want to be "with it," don't you? The Daily Mail came out this week with a list of workplace emoji that Generation Z says are either offensive or totally uncool. And apparently Boomers aren't the only offenders....more
A ruling of the National Labor Relations Board in favor of an employee fired for using vulgar language on a company bulletin board was affirmed in August by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. ...more
Television audiences for award shows have been in steep decline for years, but the 2022 Academy Awards received far more media attention after the fact than any other in modern history. This attention was all thanks to an...more
As we have often discussed, there is a fine line between protected and unprotected activity. Profane outbursts, deliberate misconduct, or highly-disruptive strikes may fall outside the protection of the NLRA, subjecting...more
On October 6, 2020, in Bennett v. Metropolitan Government of Nashville, No. 19-5818, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit reversed a district court’s decision in favor of a public employee who claimed that the city...more
Your employee has just cursed at you, calling you every racist and/or sexist name in the book. Naturally, that employee must go! Just as you are ready to sign off on the termination, a thought occurs to you: “Uh-oh. He was...more
In its recent General Motors LLC decision, the National Labor Relations Board fundamentally changed its framework for deciding whether employees engaging in offensive conduct or behavior are protected by Section 7 of the...more
In General Motors LLC, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) departed from recent cases condoning abusive employee behavior when accompanied by protected activity. (See previous Holland & Knight alert, "Recent NLRB...more
A recent decision by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB or Board) has modified the standard for determining whether employees have been lawfully disciplined or discharged after making abusive or offensive statements...more
On July 21, 2020, the National Labor Relations Board issued its decision in General Motors LLC, 369 NLRB No. 127 (2020), overruling decades of precedent granting employees considerable freedom to engage in abusive or...more
On July 21, 2020, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) (once again) modified its standard for determining whether employees have been lawfully disciplined or discharged after making abusive or offensive statements,...more
Yesterday, the National Labor Relations Board freed employers to take disciplinary action against abusive speech by employees targeting managers, supervisors, and co-workers. In General Motors LLC, the Board swept away years...more
Under the National Labor Relations Act, workers engaging in a “concerted activity” with other employees, such as a union organizer or representative discussing conditions of employment with an employer, qualifies as a...more
NLRB Decision Gives Employers More Leeway to Discipline Employees for Offensive Speech. Traditionally, the National Labor Relations Act protected offensive or even abusive speech by employees when the worker is involved in...more
On July 21, 2020, the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB” or “the Board”) issued its decision in General Motors LLC, 369 NLRB No. 127, reviving the Wright Line test and making it easier for employers to discipline an...more
Prior to Tuesday, July 21, offensive employee conduct committed in the course of otherwise protected activity under the National Labor Relations Act (the “Act”) was more often than not shielded from employer discipline. ...more
As noted previously in EmployNews, Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act protects concerted activity by employees who complain about terms and conditions of employment. Obviously, email and social media did not exist...more
The Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) provided useful clarity on when an act by an employee is done “in the course of employment” making the employer liable. The claimant had seen a colleague’s social media post featuring a...more
The National Labor Relations Board continues its efforts to revisit earlier decisions that expanded protections for employees engaged in concerted or union activities. On September 5, the board announced it is soliciting...more
It is lawful to discipline and even discharge an employee for making inappropriate or offensive remarks in the workplace. Indeed, current anti-harassment and anti-bullying laws may require an employer to take adverse action...more
On September 5, 2019, over the dissent of one member, a majority of the National Labor Relations Board invited briefing to aid the Board in reconsidering the standards for determining whether “profane outbursts and offensive...more
In Constellium Rolled Products Ravenswood, LLC, the National Labor Relations Board recently ruled in a 2-1 decision that the employer unlawfully discharged an employee who had written “whore board” on an overtime sign-up...more
Many people have fanaticized about telling their boss what they really think about him or her. Fortunately, most employees have the good sense not to write down what they are thinking about their employer....more