Board Rules On Union Access (Beltway Buzz, June 21, 2019)

The Beltway Buzz is a weekly update summarizing labor and employment news from inside the Beltway and clarifying how what's happening in Washington, D.C. could impact your business.

Board Rules on Union Access. Late last week, the National Labor Relations Board issued a decision involving the balancing of employees' statutory right to organize with employers' private property rights. In the case, the Board overruled previous decisions that required employers to permit nonemployee union organizers onto portions of their property open to the public—such as cafeterias and restaurants—as long as they weren't disruptive. The Board ruled that this standard went too far and that "an employer does not have a duty to allow the use of its facility by nonemployees for promotional or organizational activity." Thus, an employer may prohibit union activity by nonemployees in public spaces as long as the employer does not discriminate against nonemployee union officials by