Unlawful Harassment Or Protected Concerted Activity?

We've all heard before that consistency is the key to success. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit's decision in Constellium Rolled Products Ravenswood, LLC v. NLRB, No. 21-1191 (D.C. Cir. 2022), illustrates this simple but crucial principle. In a 2-1 decision, the court held that the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB or Board) had sufficient justification for its finding that Constellium Rolled Products (Constellium) committed an unfair labor practice when it terminated an employee who wrote "whore board" on an overtime sign-up sheet.

The conflict between Constellium and the employee arose after Constellium unilaterally began requiring employees to write their names on sign-up sheets for overtime scheduling. In response, 50 employees filed grievances, and one employee wrote "whore board" at the top of two sign-up sheets. As one would expect from an employer seeking to avoid potential hostile work environment claims, Constellium