Remind me again – NLRB affirms dismissal of union interference claim

The allegations at issue concerned what happened later. The employer referenced these CCP improvements during mandatory meetings in November 2021. In those meetings, managers reminded employees that CCP benefits would improve in January and highlighted these enhancements as evidence that the company “listened to associates” and invested in their development. The general counsel for the NLRB argued that these November discussions constituted unlawful promises of new benefits intended to discourage unionization. However, the Board explained that the law distinguishes between promising new benefits during a campaign (unlawful) and reminding employees of existing or previously announced benefits (lawful). Because the CCP improvements had been publicly announced two months earlier for all facilities and were not timed to union activity, the November references were deemed to be lawful reminders rather than new promises.

As a result, the Board affirmed the dismissal of the allegations that the employer had violated Section 8(a)(1) by promising improved benefits during the union campaign. The Board’s decision emphasized that there was no allegation that, or litigation over whether, the decision to enhance the CCP or the September announcement was unlawfully motivated. Without such a basis, the Board found no grounds to infer that the November remarks constituted improper inducements tied to discouraging union support. The Board also noted that employees’ lack of prior awareness of a benefit does not make an employer’s reminder of that benefit unlawful during a campaign. Therefore, the complaint allegations regarding promised improvements to the CCP were properly dismissed. 

The key takeaway for employers is the reminder that it is perfectly acceptable during union campaigning to remind employees of the benefits they enjoy—and doing so remains a good practice to employ.

__________

If you have any questions about this Legal Briefing, please feel free to contact any of the attorneys listed or the Eversheds Sutherland attorney with whom you regularly work.