By SEMA Washington, D.C., Staff
The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) ruled that employees may use their company e-mail accounts to discuss workplace issues, including union organization. The decision overturns a 2007 NLRB ruling that workers did not have a right to use company e-mail to discuss workplace conditions and compensation. The NLRB revisited the issue at the request of the Communications Workers of America, which argued that prohibiting employees from using company e-mail was an impediment to workers’ right to organize.
In its ruling, the NLRB agreed that “employee use of e-mail for statutorily protected communications on nonworking time must presumptively be permitted by employers who have chosen to give employees access to their e-mail systems.”
Key leaders in Congress disagreed with the NLRB finding and expressed their intent to introduce legislation to overturn the ruling. For more information, contact Stuart Gosswein at stuartg@sema.org.