Labor Relations Law Blog

In a 1975 case called NLRB v. J. Weingarten, the U.S. Supreme Court first set forth employees’ rights to representation during an employer interview. Over the past 43 years, these “Weingarten rights” have been refined by the National Labor Relations Board and the courts. Weingarten rights issues still arise and are still litigated. For instance, last year the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals held that Weingarten rights did not apply when an employee was put on paid suspension pending an investigation (Bellagio v. National Labor Relations Board) or when an employee participated in a non-compulsory interview with a peer review committee (Midwest Division-MMC, LLC. v. National Labor Relations Board).

On February 25th, the National Labor Relations Board unanimously vacated its December 2017 ruling in Hy-Brand Industrial Contractors, Ltd., which determined standards for establishing joint employer relationships. This action was taken after the NLRB’s Inspector General reported that Board member William Emanuel had a conflict of interest when he ruled on the case.