On January 11, 2019, the National Labor Relations Board
clarified and narrowed the standard for finding that an employee
engaged in protected concerted activities under the National Labor
Relations Act. See Alstate Maintenance, LLC, 367 NLRB No.
68 (2019). In doing so, the board overturned a 2011 decision
– WorldMark by Wyndham, 356 NLRB 765 (2011) –
that held that an employee who protests at a group meeting is
necessarily engaged in concerted protected activity.
Summary of decision
In Alstate, a manager approached airport baggage
handlers (referred to as skycaps) and requested that they help
unload a soccer team's equipment. One of the skycaps, Trevor
Greenidge, responded that "we did a similar job a year prior
and we didn't receive a tip." When the soccer team's
equipment arrived, the skycaps walked away. The employer terminated
Greenidge "for griping about not being tipped." Greenidge
contended that his comment regarding lack of tips (not the act of
walking
