Our Enforcement Activity

A supervisor at a dental association was fired after she refused to divulge the names of employees who had anonymously signed a petition protesting top management. The Board found the discharge was unlawful because she had rightfully refused to violate federal labor law by punishing concerted activity. In a settlement, the supervisor and another former employee waived reinstatement in exchange for $900,000 in lost wages and benefits. 

A licensed practical nurse was fired after she complained to her boss at a pharmaceutical research firm that other employees were receiving special treatment. The Board found the employer violated the National Labor Relations Act by firing the employee to prevent her from talking about her complaints of favoritism with co-workers.

Five employees of Hispanics United of Buffalo, which provides social services to low-income clients, were fired after they posted comments on Facebook concerning working conditions, including work load and staffing issues.

An employee was fired by a long-term acute care hospital in Chicago after filing a grievance regarding the treatment of employees who return from medical leave. The NLRB determined that the employee had engaged in protected concerted activities and called for a hearing before an administrative law judge. Prior to the hearing, the employer and employee reached a settlement agreement providing the employee with his full backpay.

For many months, a school bus driver and some of her colleagues complained to management about the unruly behavior of students on their school buses.  Students reportedly kicked, pushed, struck and spit at drivers.  The driver met with a local television news reporter and described in detail the students’ behavior, the hazards it posed for drivers and management’s failure to respond to driver complaints about the issue.  After the interview aired, the company fired the bus driver.

An employee for a major homebuilder believed he was improperly denied overtime pay because he and other employees were misclassified as supervisors. He wanted to join with the others to file a collective claim with an arbitrator. But the builder said its arbitration policy, which employees were required to sign, only allowed for individual claims. The Board found that the policy was unlawful because it denied the employees their right to engage in concerted activity by filing jointly.

After a work-related incident, an employee criticized her supervisor in a post on Facebook, which prompted other employees to reply to the posting. The employee was suspended the next day and later fired. The NLRB issued a Complaint alleging the employee was unlawfully fired for engaging in protected concerted activity when she posted on Facebook. Prior to a hearing, the case settled.

A construction contractor fired five employees after several of them appeared in a YouTube video complaining of hazardous working conditions. Following an investigation, the NLRB regional office issued complaint. As a hearing opened, the case settled, with the workers receiving full backpay and declining reinstatement.

A long-time employee at a vegetable packing plant was fired after raising safety concerns on behalf of other workers with company management and a government agency. The NLRB issued a complaint alleging the firing was unlawful because the employee’s activity was protected. Prior to a scheduled hearing, the case settled and the employee was reinstated with full backpay for time off work.

A group of poultry workers walked off the job to protest a new requirement that they pay 50 cents per pair for the latex gloves they used on the line. As the workers gathered at a nearby church, two women told their story to a local newspaper and were quoted by name. They were soon fired. The case ultimately went before the Board, which found the firings were unlawful because they punished concerted activity that was protected.

Several dozen welders performing contract work under temporary visas signed a petition protesting their poor living conditions and irregular hours. The worker who delivered the petition to the employer was threatened with deportation and then fired that day. The NLRB issued complaint and scheduled a trial, but before it began, the parties settled with the worker receiving $13,000 in backpay.

The employer maintained a overly broad social media policy unlawfully restricting employees' discussions about terms and conditions of employment and required that employees sign a copy of the policy or be fired.  One worker was discharged after raising concerns with co-workers about this policy and for refusing to sign it.  After the regional NLRB office found that the employer’s social media policy unduly restricted employees' rights under the National Labor Relations Act and that the employer unlawfully discharged the employee who had raised concerns with her co-workers and refused to sign the policy, the employer settled the case by reinstating the discharged employee with full backpay, rescinding the unlawful portions of their social media policy, and posting a notice informing employees of their rights under the National Labor Relations Act.

The staff at an urgent care center sent an anonymous letter to the owner/doctor, asking him to reconsider a plan to immediately cut wages by 10% and suggesting alternate ways to save money. Within a month, two employees who wrote and edited the letter were fired. The Board found the employees’ activity was protected and ordered full backpay and offers of reinstatement.

Employees at an Oakland based internet software company were discharged through a layoff soon after they raised group concerns about changes to their working conditions. The NLRB issued a complaint alleging that the discharges were unlawful because the employees’ collective activities were protected.

In April 2012, a group of employees walked off the production line to protest the speed of the line and other working conditions, and thereafter met with the plant manager. That evening, the employees again met with the plant manager, to discuss their compensation and other matters. One month later, when the Employer learned that another work stoppage was planned, three employees were separately called into the office and dismissed.

Women working the overnight shift at a plastics manufacturing plant discussed concerns about a new supervisor, who they later learned was a registered sex offender. They asked for a group meeting with Human Relations officials, but were instead called into individual meetings and disciplined. One employee was fired; others were demoted. Following an NLRB investigation, the employer settled the case by agreeing to restore all employees to their former positions with full backpay. 

When a heavy thunderstorm hit one March afternoon, 13 workers building the foundation of a luxury hotel retreated to a trailer to wait out the downpour. Supervisors ordered them back to work, but the workers refused, citing health and safety concerns, and were fired on the spot. After the regional NLRB office found sufficient evidence to call for a hearing, the contractor settled with the workers by offering backpay and reinstatement.

A group of employees at a non-profit animal sanctuary, had conversations complaining about several executives of the organization, including how the founder was verbally abusive and yelled at employees. Two days later, two of the employees were fired. During conversations with the employees, the founder and the president made statements that gave them the impression that their private conversations complaining about the founder’s treatment of employees had been under surveillance.

When a hotel housekeeping service announced a $2-per-hour wage cut, employees protested in letters to managers, written with the help of a community organization. Workers who led the effort and signed the letters were later fired. After the NLRB issued complaint, both employees received full backpay and offers of reinstatement.

A customer service representative for a diaper supply company was fired after discussing her wages with another employee, based on a policy in the company handbook that the NLRB later found to be unlawful. After the NLRB issued a complaint, the case settled with the employee receiving backpay and an offer of reinstatement. The employer also changed its handbook to inform employees that they do have the right to discuss their wages with each other.

Supervisors at a cheese processing facility held a meeting of all the company’s employees, informing them that they would be receiving merit- based wage increases. The supervisors told the employees that they were prohibited from discussing the extent of their pay increases, stating that anyone found to have discussed their raise with co-workers would be fired.