The NLRB has reversed the ALJ in Whole Foods and held
that audio and video recording by employees in the workplace cannot
be prohibited except in very rare cases. Unless you are a hospital
and need to protect the privacy of your patients or a manufacturer
with a secret sauce, employees now have to be permitted to make
audio and video recordings on the job.
The words of the Board's majority say it all:
Photography and audio or video recording in the workplace, as
well as the posting of photographs and recordings on social media
are protected by Section 7 if employees are acting in concert for
their mutual aid and protection and no overriding employer interest
is present...Such protected conduct may include, for example,
recording images of protected picketing, documenting unsafe
workplace equipment or hazardous working conditions,
documenting and publicizing discussions about terms and
conditions of employment, documenting inconsistent application of
employer rules,
