Earlier ruling 'did not give adequate consideration to the importance of workers' rights,' says board chairman
The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has overruled a prior decision that made it easier for an employer to discipline or discharge workers for misconduct during a workplace dispute.
As a result, the board is returning to the “long-established ‘setting-specific’ standards applicable to cases where employees are disciplined or discharged for misconduct that occurs during activity otherwise protected by the National Labor Relations Act,” it said.
The decision came in a case involving Lion Elastomers, a Texas-based synthetic rubber manufacturer.
In 2017, the company disciplined and ultimately fired a worker after he got into a heated exchange with managers about working conditions, reported Reuters. Lion claimed the worker's conduct was so offensive that the firing was warranted, but the board disagreed and ordered the company to reinstate him.
On Monday, the NLRB disagreed with the employer. It said that labor disputes are often heated, as the Supreme Court has recognized. The board reaffirmed the principle that employees “must be given some leeway for their behavior while engaging in protected concerted activity, in order to safeguard their statutory rights”.
“To fully protect employee rights, conduct during protected concerted activity must be evaluated in the context of that important activity—not as if it occurred in the ordinary workplace context,” said...
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