As we have observed several times this year, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB or the “Board”), under the majority appointed by President Biden, has taken a number of actions to widely expand workers’ rights under federal labor law.
A recent Board decision in American Federation for Children, Inc. and Sarah Raybon serves as another important reminder that employee protections under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA or the “Act”) are being interpreted broadly by the current Board. And it highlights the fact that employers should be mindful that federal labor laws are not only reserved for union employees, but also provide protections for employees in non-unionized workforces.
To be sure, Section 7 of the Act protects employees who take action in the workplace for when they engage in “protected concerted activity,” which normally implies the employee is acting on behalf of themselves and other employees.
However, in American Federation for Children, the NLRB went a step further and held that, in some circumstances, such protection also applies to actions by a company’s workers that are taken in support of non-employees. This new ruling overturns prior precedent from 2019 and establishes that employers cannot punish employees for taking group or “concerted” action to improve working conditions of non-employees, such as applicants or interns.
Consistent with the Board’s recent movement, the American Federation for Children decision overturns a Trump-era NLRB...
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