Employers Own Email

It may be time to review your policy regarding email.

Recently the National Labor Relations Board ruled employers may lawfully maintain a company policy that prohibits employees from using the employer’s email system for any “non-job-related solicitations.” Even if an employer has allowed a number of nonwork-related employee emails it may ban emails urging support for groups or organizations such as unions.

The key issue is the employer owns and maintains the equipment. This ruling does not stop employees from soliciting one another in-person, however, the Board held that, absent discrimination, employees have no statutory right to use an employer’s equipment or media for union communications.

The Board also significantly changed its standard regarding email usage. Personal nonwork-related postings such as for-sale notices and wedding announcements can be allowed while simultaneously ”group” or “organizational” postings such as union materials are not acceptable. For a complete view of the NLRB Amicus brief, click here.

This topic may sound rather mundane, but if your organization is growing is better to take a moment and update your policy regarding email than to have a problem in the future they could have been avoided by simple policy change. If you want to enjoy Success With People yet don’t have the time to deal with this right now, and possibly you can delegate this to someone else.