O'Brien on EEO Civility Rules & Concerted Activity

Chris O'Brien (Boston College - Carroll School of Management) has just posted on SSRN her article (forthcoming 12 William & Mary Business Law Review ___) Twenty-First Century Labor Law: Striking the Right Balance between Workplace Civility Rules that Accommodate Equal Employment Opportunity Obligations and the Loss of Protection for Concerted Activities Under the National Labor Relations Act. Here's the abstract:

This article outlines the current state of the law regarding conduct that, while otherwise protected by Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act, nonetheless involves workplace profanity or offensive speech that potentially violates employer civility rules and equal employment opportunity laws, whether at work, on social media, or on a picket line. The paper considers recent appellate court and National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) decisions on this important issue, highlighting the NLRB’s own reconsideration of its standards as announced in its call for amicus briefs in the General Motors case, September 2019. The author recommends a solution that balances the important public policies underlying both the National Labor Relations Act and equal employment opportunity laws, as well as employer and employee rights to manage and work in a place with a desired level of respect and consideration for others.

This is a great topic and I'm very much looking forward to reading the article.

rb