A split three-member panel of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB or Board) ruled recently that a company policy maintained by retailer Macy’s, Inc. that restricted employee access to confidential customer information and data did not violate federal labor law.
In a decision authored by NLRB Chair Phillip Miscimarra and joined by Member Lauren McFerran that reversed in part a ruling by an NLRB Administrative Law Judge (ALJ), the Board acknowledged that while employees have the right to “concertedly appeal to their employer’s customers for support in a labor dispute,” the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) “does not protect employees who divulge information that their employer lawfully may conceal.”
The Macy’s case stems from a challenge brought by the United Food and Commercial Workers Union (UFCW) claiming that a number of company policies, including the confidential customer data policy, could be “reasonably construed” to prohibit employees from engaging in protected concerted activity under the NLRA.
The panel did leave intact, however, the ALJ’s decision invalidating as overly broad company policies prohibiting the use of information about other employees, restricting use of the Macy’s logo, or requiring employees to notify the human resources department prior to participating in a government investigation.
Members of the Center for Workplace Compliance (CWC) can read more here.