NLRB Continues Assault on Employer Handbook Policies
In an opinion issued last week, the National Labor Relations Board once again found unlawful a number of employer handbook policies on the grounds that such policies could have a chilling effect on Section 7 rights. CY-Fair Volunteer Fire Department and Robert Berleth , Case 16-CA-107721 (NLRB July 15, 2016). You can find the case at: https://www.nlrb.gov/case/16-CA-107721 . Handbook policies the Board found unlawful in the employer fire department’s handbook included the following: 1. Policies restricting employees from discussing or disclosing personal information of other employees. • In the “Overview” of the handbook, the employer advised employees that disclosing or discussing the personal information of other employees is grounds for disciplinary action. • Under its “Essential Behavioral Expectations” policy, the employer advised employees that they were expected to maintain the “confidentiality of business knowledge and member/employee informa