Employer violated NLRA (National Labor Relations Act) by prohibiting union e-mails on company system

[Omaha Steve]

No link yet.

Employer violated NLRA by prohibiting union e-mails on company system

The Fourth Circuit recently affirmed the National Labor Relations Board's (NLRB) conclusion that an employer violated the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) by refusing to allow its employees to send company e-mails to disseminate union messages.

Facts

Media General Operations, Inc., had an official policy that restricted use of its e-mail system to matters related to company business.

According to its policy, "The e-mail system is provided to employees at Company expense to assist them in carrying out the Company's business." In practice, however, employees transmitted a wide variety of messages unrelated to company business, including personal messages, charitable announcements, and union matters.

The NLRB found that Media General did little to prevent employees' personal use of its e-mail system and disciplined only two workers for violations that involved pornography. Its general tolerance for e-mail violations began to change in May or June 1999, when Media General informed the union president that the union couldn't use the company e-mail system for communicating union messages. That was followed by a second verbal warning to the union president in September 1999.

The union's president didn't convey those warnings to other union leaders or the general membership. Apart from a reminder e-mailed to the union's president in June 2000, the company took no further action. The rest of the union's bargaining committee first learned of Media General's intent to enforce its e-mail policy during negotiations for a new collective bargaining agreement in July 2000. The company told union leaders to stop using its e-mail system for union business.

A short time later, the union complained to the NLRB that Media General had enforced its e-mail policy in a discriminatory way against the union. The NLRB concluded that Media General violated the NLRA because it hadn't enforced its business-only e-mail policy against nonunion e-mails, except for the pornography violations. The employer appealed that decision.

Fourth Circuit's analysis

The Fourth Circuit held that the NLRB's conclusion was reasonable. Although its policy restricted use of the e-mail system to company purposes, Media General made no attempt to enforce the rule for any violations other than union messages. The court emphasized that the evidence included numerous examples of messages unrelated to work. The e-mail system was frequently used by both hourly employees and managers to convey news about their personal lives, arrange social events, and inform coworkers about charities.

The court agreed with the NLRB that restricting the union's access to a communication channel while allowing others unfettered access to it is an unfair labor practice prohibited by the NLRA. Media General Operations Inc. d/b/a Richmond Times-Dispatch v. NLRB, Nos. 06-1023, 06-1061, and 06-1213 (4th Cir., March 15, 2007).

Bottom line

This case is a good reminder that written employment policies, which can be useful in avoiding liability, are ineffective if they aren't uniformly enforced. Evenhanded enforcement of all workplace rules is necessary to avoid potential discrimination complaints.


May 21, 2007

[papau]

1. A Court decision - I knew the NRLB would never rule for the union. n/t

n/t