When can a Union See an Employer’s Investigation File: Under the National Labor Relations Act, an employer must provide a union with information it requests within a reasonable time or tell the union why the employer will not provide the information. In United States Postal Service, 371 NLRB No. 7 (2021), the union requested the investigation file…

Conducting workplace investigations is one of the hardest tasks for HR managers. Getting unwilling witnesses to come forth, finding out what information is applicable, and making sure the process is as fair to the alleged violator as to the alleged victim are challenging enough without the NLRB’s influence weakening the process. Until recently, to get…

The National Labor Relations Board has been clear that companies cannot impose a blanket confidentiality rule on employees during investigations. However, it seems that employers are still having difficulty with this new standard. In a recent case, a hospital used company forms that requested that employees interviewed during company investigations keep the interviews confidential and…

According to an Administrative Law Judge, a Washington state company did not violate the National Labor Relations Act by requiring its employees to maintain the confidentiality of “human resources related information” and “investigations by outside agencies (formal and informal), as well as supplier lists, prices, and marketing plans.” But on appeal, the NLRB overruled the…

As appearing in the Human Resources of Central Ohio (HRACO) monthly newsletter    Are You Coming to the HRACO Labor Relations SIG to Learn About These Important Changes From the National Labor Relations Board?  Thank you for such great feedback and enthusiasm for HRACO’s first Special Interest Group dedicated exclusively for traditional labor matters. A…

As appearing in the Human Resources of Central Ohio (HRACO) monthly newsletter   The NLRB Does Not Want HR to Conduct Confidential Workplace Investigations  Please don’t shoot the messenger for this one. The National Labor Relations Board recently held that, subject to certain limitations, employers cannot require confidentiality during ongoing workplace investigations. Specifically, discussing an…