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NLRB continues to watch non-union employers
February 02, 2005 by Ross Runkel at LawMemo
Non-Union employers took pleasure in the NLRB's decision that Weingarten rights do not apply in the non-union workplace. IBM Corp., 341 NLRB No. 148 (06/09/2004).
This shift in NLRB policy should not be taken as a signal that the NLRB is no longer paying attention to the non-union workplace.
Case in point: The first NLRB decision of 2005, National Specialties Installations, 344 NLRB No. 2 (01/18/2005). Two employees went to the president of the company to complain that their paychecks had bounced, and the president fired them. This is a classic example of a Section 8(a)(1) violation. The employees were engaged in "concerted activity" and they were complaining about "terms and conditions of employment." That was the reason they got fired. End of discussion.
The NLRB issued its usual order in such cases, to reinstate the employees with back pay. The cost to the employer? All the expenses of litigation plus paying two employees who were not performing services while the litigation was going on.
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