The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) recently issued a decision ruling that employers violate the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) when they require employees to attend captive audience meetings. While the decision was not entirely unexpected in light of previous memoranda from the General Counsel for the NLRB, the decision disrupts long-standing precedent allowing an employer to hold such meetings.
Over 70 years ago, the NLRB found employers may hold “captive audience meetings.” Captive audience meetings are mandatory meetings held during work hours where employers inform employees of the company’s stance on unionization. As long as employees were not threatened, punished, or promised some benefit in exchange for attendance, these mandatory meetings were permissible under the NLRA.
However, this decision marks significant changes for future captive audience meetings. Under the new rule, employers may not require employees to attend captive audience meetings. Even if the employer supports unionization efforts and wants to inform its employees that they have management’s support, the meeting cannot be mandatory. If an employee could reasonably conclude that attendance is required, the meeting violates the employee’s rights under the NLRA. The NLRB provided several reasons supporting their rationale that captive audience meetings:
- Interfere with an employee’s right to decide whether or not they want to participate in unionization efforts.
- Are a mechanism for employers to surveil employees, specifically an employee’s exercise of their Section 7 rights.
- That compel attendance are coercive, which directly impacts the message employees are forced to receive when attending the meeting.
While captive audience meetings can no longer be mandatory, the meetings are not banned outright. Employers may still use captive audience meetings to communicate with employees regarding unionization efforts. However, employees must receive reasonable advance notice of the meetings. The notice must inform employees of:
- The subject matter of the meeting.
- Clarify that attendance is voluntary and there will be no adverse employment action taken if employee does not attend.
- Inform the employee that attendance will not be recorded.
With union elections on the rise, this decision is just one of many changes employers handling unionization efforts must keep in mind. Bricker Graydon’s Labor & Employment team is here to help your company stay up to date on best practices and answer any questions you have on this and other labor and employment topics.
