D.C. Circuit Sends T-Mobile ‘Group Proposal’ Case Back to NLRB

A federal appeals court punted back to the National Labor Relations Board a dispute over whether telecommunications giant T-Mobile USA Inc. unlawfully set up a shadow labor organization to undermine support for the Communications Workers of America.

In sending the case back to the NLRB, U.S. Circuit Judge JudithWilsonRogers in Washington asked the board to answer a simple question: What constitutes a protected “group proposal” from employees to management?

The case hinges on the difference between a group proposal, protected under the National Labor Relations Act, and more general feedback from workers to management. CWA argued that T-Mobile ...