Supervisor’s Text Messages Constitute Unlawful Interrogation

 In

According to the National Labor Relations Board, a supervisor’s text messages to an employee that included a question about whether the employee was working for the employer or for the union violated the National Labor Relations Act.

Under the NLRA, employers may not interrogate employees about their union activities or sympathies. In RHCG Safety Corp., the Board applied a totality of circumstances test to find that the supervisor’s text message, which juxtaposed working for the employer with working for the union, unlawfully suggested that the two were incompatible. The supervisor failed to explain the purpose of the question and failed to provide any assurances against reprisals.