Janus-Based Challenge to Workplace E-Mail

That didn't take long. A week after Janus came down, the Purple Communications firm is trying to use the decision (as well as Becerra) to overturn the NLRB's rule in Purple Communications that permits employees in some instances to use employer e-mail for NLRA-related communications. This argument reflects part of Member Johnson's dissent in Purple Communications.

As I've written previously, I think the argument that it violates the First Amendment to allow employees to communicate about labor matters through employer email is ridiculous. The best rejoinder to this argument was the majority's analogy in Purple Communications that no one would think that a message sent via gmail represents the views of Google. And I see nothing in Janus or Becerra that suggests otherwise. The closest related claim to pass the smell test is the idea that requiring an employer to allow speech hostile to the employer on its own e-mail system is improper. I say it's close to passing the smell test because one can see how an employer would see that as unfair. But that doesn't mean there's any legal basis for the argument. The Court has required employers to let employees use their property for hostile speech for decades (think Republic Aviation) without any constitutional or statutory issues. That said, I guess we can't totally count this argument out given how the Court has been treating labor issues lately. 

Stay tuned.

-Jeff Hirsch

Hat Tip: Charlotte Garden