EEOC, NLRB Promise Guidance on Profanity During Union Activity

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the National Labor Relations Board are planning to issue joint guidance to help employers navigate controversial speech that might run afoul of anti-discrimination statutes but is protected under federal labor law, the head of the EEOC said.

EEOC Chair Charlotte Burrows revealed Thursday at an American Bar Association conference in Boston that both agencies are making efforts to provide employers with more clarity on the issue “soon.”

The move comes amid employer concerns that the recent NLRB ruling in Lion Elastomers improperly overturned the board’s 2020 General Motors LLC decision, which gave private-sector employers ...