NLRB 3-2 Finds Presumptive Employee Right To Use Company E-Mail for Protected Activity

In a long-awaited decision, the National Labor Relations Board 3-2 ruled Dec. 11 that employees who have been given access to an employer’s e-mail system must presumptively be allowed to use the system during their nonworking time for communications that are protected by the National Labor Relations Act (Purple Commc’ns, Inc., N.L.R.B., 12/11/14).

In Guard Publishing Co. d/b/a Register-Guard, 351 N.L.R.B. 1110, 183 LRRM 1113 (2007) (246 DLR A-1, 12/24/07), the board held employees had no statutory right to use such systems, but Chairman Mark Gaston Pearce and Members Kent Y. Hirozawa and Nancy J. ...