1. Stephen W. Riddell Stephen Piepgrass Troutman Sanders LLP October 30, 2014

3. Sec. 8(a)(1): prohibits employers from interfering with, restraining, or coercing employees in the exercise of Sec. 7 rights

5. - “[E]mployees who publicly share unfavorable... information related to the company or any of its employees or customers” face discipline.

7. Applied to employee duties, payroll or accounting records/practices, personnel policies/practices “…including all matters related to employees training, selection, discipline, and/or discharge.”

8. –Chilling effect on employees –An employee could reasonably interpret the policy to prohibit discussing wages/salary information, disciplinary/discharge policies

9. Talking about a person’s personal life when they are not present or about a person’s professional life without supervisor’s consent. Negative, untrue, or disparaging comments or criticisms of others Creating, sharing, or repeating (1) information that can injure a person’s credibility, (2) a rumor about another person or (3) a rumor that is overheard or hearsay.

10. Note: Similar policies have been approved “by including examples of clearly illegal or unprotected conduct.”

12. ALJ’s holding: Policy was unlawfully overbroad –Not restricted to confidential or even company info –Instead prohibited posting any information without approval

16. Board’s ruling: The employees had engaged in protected concerted activity.

19. Board’s ruling: The policy was impermissibly overbroad.

20. Social Media Policy: Employees may not post information regarding Company, jobs, or other employees “which could lead to morale issues in the workplace or detrimentally affect the Company’s business.”

21. “In determining whether a challenged rule is unlawful, the Board must... [r]efrain from reading particular phrases in isolation.” Lutheran Heritage Village-Livonia, 343 NLRB 646 (2004)