Narrowly tailor-made anti-harassment insurance policies are unlikely to quantity to civility guidelines that would violate labor rights, a Nationwide Labor Relations Board official mentioned in a memo Thursday, assuaging some latest employer-side issues.
The board in 2023 reversed a Trump-era stance that allowed employers to keep up sure handbook insurance policies mandating a respectful office. It shortly thereafter discovered {that a} Starbucks coverage on communication at work was overbroad and “threatened to relax” employee expression, in violation of the Nationwide Labor Relations Act.
Stakeholders had expressed concern that employer anti-harassment insurance policies might be equally considered as chilling employee expression, however NLRB Common Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo aimed to place these fears to relaxation on this week’s memo to company area workplaces.
Anti-harassment insurance policies which can be narrowly tailor-made, targeted and exact are the most certainly to advance each NLRA and equal employment alternative targets, she mentioned. “For instance, a rule that particularly prohibits harassment based mostly on EEO-protected traits wouldn’t increase any issues underneath the NLRA,” Abruzzo wrote.
Such a rule, nonetheless, ought to stand separate from any broader guidelines concerning respect or civility within the office, she really useful. Anti-harassment insurance policies are also finest positioned in the event that they embrace examples of the forms of language and conduct which can be prohibited, Abruzzo mentioned. She additional really useful companies embrace a word that an anti-harassment coverage doesn’t restrict NLRA-protected exercise equivalent to discussions about employment circumstances or criticism of an employer.
“The target,” Abruzzo mentioned, “is to go off actually abusive or harassing habits based mostly on protected traits whereas leaving area for vigorous train of protected concerted exercise for mutual help or safety.”
