5th Circuit Says T-Mobile Recording Ban Violates Labor Law, Reverses NLRB on Other Charges
A federal appeals court found illegal T-Mobile’s workplace ban on photography and audio or video recording, but said three other employee-handbook rules flagged by the National Labor Relations Board don’t violate the National Labor Relations Act. The recording ban is…
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
Timely, relevant coverage of court proceedings and agency rulings involving tariffs, classification, valuation, origin and antidumping and countervailing duties. Each day, Trade Law Daily subscribers receive a daily headline email, in-depth PDF edition and access to all relevant documents via our trade law source document library and website.
too broad, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals wrote in a Tuesday decision. “This ban is, by its own terms alone, stated so broadly that a reasonable employee, generally aware of employee rights, would interpret it to discourage protected concerted activity, such as even an off-duty employee photographing a wage schedule posted on a corporate bulletin board.” The three rules found by the court not to violate the act asked employees (1) to maintain a positive work environment, (2) not to argue, and to treat others with respect and demonstrate teamwork, and (3) not to access electronic information without approval. The NLRB had said all four rules discouraged unionizing. A “reasonable employee” would not interpret those three rules as discouraging unions, the court said. The company and board didn’t comment.