The National Labor Relations Board tends to interpret “protected concerted activity” broadly. The board has blessed a wide range of arguably unprofessional conduct by employees, from complaining about the boss’ salary to bad-mouthing the employer on Twitter. The latest example came earlier this month, when an NLRB administrative law judge ruled that an employee can’t be fired over an alleged profanity-laced bathroom conversation about an annoying client.
The facts of the case, Quicken Loans and Austin Laff, an Individual, Case No. 28-CA-146517: An employee overheard a bathroom talk between two other employees and immediately chastised them. The details as to what actually was said and by whom are disputed, but according to the employer, a client was bashed and an “f-bomb” was dropped. One of the two employees purportedly involved in the conversation was fired. He then filed an unfair labor practice charge with the NLRB, arguing (among other things) that he’d been engaging in concerted protected activity.
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