Protected Concerted Activity Hiding in Broad Daylight – NLRB Finds Captive Audience Meetings Violate the National Labor Relations Act
On November 13, 2024, the National Labor Relations Board (the “Board”) overturned a long-standing precedent from Babcock & Wilcox Co., 77 NLRB 577 (1948) that allowed employers to hold what are commonly referred to as captive audience meetings. For more than 76 years, employers were permitted to require employees to attend meetings in which employers could share their views on unionization.
In Amazon.com Services LLC, 373 NLRB No. 136, the Board held that captive audience meetings violate the National Labor Relation Act (the “Act”). The Board reasoned that captive audience meetings “have a reasonable tendency to interfere with and coerce employees in the exercise of their . . . right to freely decide whether or not to unionize, including the right to decide whether, when, and how they will listen to and consider their employer’s views concerning that choice.”
However, the Board noted that an employer may still hold meetings to express their views on unionization as long as the following conditions are met:
- The employer intends to express its views on unionization at a meeting at which attendance is voluntary;
- Employees will not be subject to discipline, discharge, or other adverse consequences for failing to attend the meeting or for leaving the meeting; and
- The employer will not keep records of which employees attend, fail to attend, or leave the meeting.
While this decision will impact all employers, this drastic shift is likely the result of the current pro-labor Board doing all it can to flex its muscles on what it sees as a powerful employer that has been vocally anti-union and the subject of many recent unfair labor practice charges.
With President-elect Trump set to take office, it is expected that Republicans will soon make up a majority of the Board. This makes it likely that many recent pro-labor standards will shift back to more employer-friendly standards in the coming months and years.
As we continue to monitor these developments, if you have questions or concerns relating to these issues, please contact Jonathan Sollish at Maddin Hauser. We are here to assist you in avoiding employment and labor problems before they become a problem.