Bans on taking photos at work are addressed in the NLRB report.
Bans on taking photos at work are addressed in the NLRB report.

The NLRB’s General Counsel’s office today released a lengthy report “concerning recent employer rule” cases.

That sounds generic. It’s not.

Rather, the NLRB is now outlining its views on otherwise-neutral employer policies and whether they could be deemed to violate federal labor law.  While part of the report is a recap of existing caselaw, this is probably the most comprehensive approach I’ve seen in a while. And more importantly, it provides policies that were approved by the NLRB in a recent settlement with Wendy’s.

This is an issue I’ve talked about before, whether policies on photos and videos, or social media, or confidentiality.

There’s a lot to take in but this should provide employers with guidance should they wish to avoid the NLRB’s steely gaze.

The “model” policies it approves of may not be your preferred language (and indeed, in one area, it would seem to almost encourage union-related activities), but employers who want to stay well within the limits of the law will certainly want to use this as a guide.

I’ll have more on this in an upcoming post after a more comprehensive review.

Hat tip: Jon Hyman.