The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB or Board) has ruled that federal labor law gives broad protection to workers who make offensive outbursts—including racist and sexist statements—while engaging in protected activity. In this case, the Board concluded that an employer violated the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) when it fired a union representative who made heated remarks during a safety meeting and ignored repeated warnings to curb his outbursts. The Board’s ruling in Lion Elastomers reversed the Trump-era Board’s decision in General Motors and is the latest in a series of decisions reversing Trump-era NLRB rulings as President Biden’s pro-union appointees have become a majority on the five-member Board.
Members of the Center for Workplace Compliance (CWC) can read more here.