Interference with Employee Rights

Employees covered by the National Labor Relations Act have the right to join together to improve their wages and working conditions, with or without a union.

When an employer or union interfere with these rights, it is an unfair labor practice, and it violates the National Labor Relations Act. 

If an unfair labor practice charge is filed at an NLRB Regional Office, a Board Agent will be assigned to investigate the case. If the NLRB Regional Office determines that there is merit to the charge, it will seek remedies to stop the unlawful conduct and restore employees to the situation they were in before the unlawful conduct (through for example, reinstatement, monetary relief, or voiding a rule or policy).

Examples of unlawful interference by an employer or union can be found here. In addition to the examples listed, there are also rules, policies, practices, and employment agreements that can interfere with employee rights and are therefore unlawful. These policies, even if not enforced, can chill employees from exercising their rights under labor law.

For example, an employer handbook rule or employment agreement (including a severance agreement) that prohibits employees from discussing or sharing information about their wages and working conditions with their co-workers, a labor organization or worker center, the media, the NLRB, or any other government agency violates the National Labor Relations Act. If a rule or agreement even could chill employees from discussing or sharing information about their working conditions, it may violate the National Labor Relations Act.

The NLRB General Counsel has also taken the position that the following policies and practices can violate the National Labor Relations Act:

• Misclassification (as an independent contractor, player, or other category of employee excluded from the National Labor Relations Act). This memo has more info.
• Agreements or provisions in agreements that restrict mobility (like non-competes, non-solicitations, stay-or-pay, or training re-payment provisions a/k/a TRAPs). This memo has more info.
• Electronic monitoring and algorithmic management practices, where they tend to interfere with or prevent a reasonable employee from engaging in activity protected by the National Labor Relations Act. This memo has more info.

If you believe that an employer or union is interfering with your rights as an employee under the National Labor Relations Act, you can call your NLRB regional office at 844-762-6572 and get assistance in filing an unfair labor practice charge, or e-file a charge here. 

Employees are protected by the National Labor Relations Act regardless of immigration status and you can learn more about immigrant workers rights here.

This page was posted by the Office of the General Counsel, and it represents the General Counsel’s positions. It has not been reviewed or approved by the Board. The information contained here may be subject to unstated exceptions, qualifications, or limitations, and it may be rendered unreliable without prior notice by subsequent changes in the law.