NLRB Tosses ULP Over Recording Supervisor Meeting

NLRB Division of Advice dismissed unfair labor practice charges against Sutherland Global Services involving overtime policy changes and employee termination.

The allegations:
– Employer retaliated by tightening overtime approval rules after discussing unpaid incentive pay with coworkers
– Employee claimed termination for recording a supervisor meeting violated NLRA protections

On the overtime policy claim: timing alone doesn’t cut it. Even with protected concerted activity happening, the NLRB found insufficient evidence of retaliation—especially since the policy applied company-wide and the employee wasn’t disparately excluded from overtime.

On the recording the meeting claim: that is not protected concerted activity. The employee claimed it was for personal safety, never framed it as helping the group, and explicitly told the supervisor they were advocating only for themselves.

The takeaway: Neutral, uniformly enforced workplace policies survive scrutiny even when employees are engaging in protected activity.