The General Counsel of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB or Board) has released several internal “Advice Memoranda,” two of which deal with application of the Board’s more flexible new “Boeing Standard” to employers’ workplace rules.
So-called Advice Memos are issued by the General Counsel’s office in response to requests by the NLRB’s field staff for policy guidance on cases currently pending in their regional offices. The Advice Memos are considered internal guidance, and reflect the views of the Board’s General Counsel. From time to time, as is the case here, the General Counsel will make Advice Memos publicly available after a case has closed. The memos in turn often provide valuable insights into the NLRB’s current enforcement posture.
Under the so-called “Boeing Standard,” articulated in a case decided by the Board last year, the Board will now look to the nature and extent of a workplace policy’s potential impact on protected rights and the legitimate business justifications for the employer’s maintenance of the policy, essentially balancing employee and employer interests.
Members of the Center for Workplace Compliance (CWC) can read more here.