News & Analysis as of September 20, 2024

Email Policies

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The phrase "Protected Concerted Activity" refers to certain protected activities specified in the National Labor Relations Act of 1935. Under the NLRA, covered employees may join together to improve their wages and working conditions. If employees are engaged in "protected concerted activity" and suffer adverse employment consequences, such employees may seek redress under the NLRA, whether or not they are members of a union. less -

Two New NLRB Decisions Allow Employers to Limit Use of Its Email System and Preserve Confidentiality of Workplace Investigations

Troutman Pepper on 1/7/2020

Q: What is the current rule on whether an employee can use our company’s email system to distribute union material? Also, are we permitted to require employees to keep workplace investigations confidential without running...more

NLRB Reverses Itself on Two Obama-Era Pro-Employee Decisions

White and Williams LLP on 12/30/2019

Closing out 2019, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB or the Board) issued two final opinions that will reverse employee-friendly decisions. The two opinions - Apogee Retail LLC d/b/a Unique Thrift Store (Apogee) and...more

NLRB restores employers’ right to control email, IT systems

Bricker Graydon LLP on 12/20/2019

On December 16, 2019, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) issued a major decision restoring employers’ property rights in the use of email and other IT resources. In Caesar’s Entertainment, the NLRB held that employees...more

NLRB Confirms Prohibiting Use Of Company Equipment, Including Work Emails, Is Lawful

Fisher Phillips on 12/19/2019

The National Labor Relations Board decided Tuesday, December 17th, that employees have no statutory right to use an employer’s equipment, including work emails and IT resources. Therefore, employers may legally restrict the...more

NLRB (Mostly) Restores Employers’ Right to Restrict Use of Their Email Systems

McNees Wallace & Nurick LLC on 12/19/2019

In 2014, the NLRB held in Purple Communications that employers must allow their employees to use company email systems to engage in union activities and other protected conduct under the National Labor Relations Act. Last...more

NLRB Clears the Purple Haze Around Employee Use of Employer E-mail

Spilman Thomas & Battle, PLLC on 12/19/2019

The NLRB reversed the controversial holding in Purple Communications, which allowed employees to use their employer's e-mail system during non-working hours to engage in Section 7 protected discussions regarding wages, hours...more

Employers May Require Confidentiality During Ongoing Disciplinary Investigations and Prohibit Use of Company Equipment for...

Snell & Wilmer on 12/18/2019

Overruling Obama-era precedent, on December 17 the National Labor Relations Board (Board) published two decisions that will significantly affect all employers. In a decision involving a Las Vegas employer, the Board held...more

Purple Communications No More? A Look Back at the Landmark Case and Ahead to What May Take Its Place

Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart,... on 8/23/2018

On August 1, 2018, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) invited briefs on “whether the Board should adhere to, modify, or overrule its 2014 decision in Purple Communications, Inc.” The following questions and answers...more

NLRB Turns Attention to Employer Email Systems

Benesch on 8/7/2018

After a busy eight months since December of 2017 that saw the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) issue a number of important decisions addressing topics such as joint-employers (rescinded), company policies, micro-units,...more

II-29- E-Mail Curfews, the DOL’s New Self-Audit Program, Social Media Discovery, and Other Noteworthy Employment Law Trends and...

Cozen O'Connor on 3/27/2018

This episode welcomes the start of Spring by addressing hot labor and employment developments on e-mail curfews, the DOL’s new voluntary self-audit program, social media discovery in lawsuits, employees losing their...more

Memo From Labor Board’s Top Attorney Signals Change Is On Its Way

Fisher Phillips on 12/5/2017

The newly installed General Counsel for the National Labor Relations Board published a memorandum late last week indicating that the General Counsel is preparing to push to reverse many of the controversial positions taken...more

Employee Use of Company Email Systems

Tucker Arensberg, P.C. on 6/1/2016

Many employers have policies that prohibit employees from using the company email system for personal emails. The theory is that the email system is set up and paid for by the company in order to facilitate company business,...more

Why Getting Handbooks Right Matters: NLRB Judge Holds Verizon’s Restrictions on Employee Communications During Non-Working Time...

Mintz - Employment, Labor & Benefits... on 10/2/2015

Despite previous NLRB rulings telling them to stop, some employers continue to impose broad prohibitions on personal employee communications over company email. As an administrative law judge recently reminded us, failing to...more

NLRB Decision Gives Employees Greater Protection When Using Company Email

Lowndes on 1/22/2015

In perhaps a surprising reversal of precedent, the National Labor Relations Board, recently held in Purple Communications, Inc. and Communications Workers of America, AFL-CIO (“Purple Communications”), that employees should...more

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