impact of employer e-mail policies on employee rights to engage in concerted activities protected by the National Labor Relations ActThe

impact of employer e-mail policies on employee rights to engage in concerted activities protected by the National Labor Relations Act

The

O'Brien

Christine Neylon

O'Brien, Christine Neylon

Dept. of Business Law, Carroll School of Management

Author

text

article

2002monographic

2002

monographic

Englisheng

English

eng

electronicapplication/pdfdigitized other analog

electronic

application/pdf

digitized other analog

This paper addresses the interrelationship of employee rights to engage in concerted activities under Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) and employer policies on e-mail use. Does an email policy of business-use-only avoid legal problems? Is such a policy practical in light of the pervasive use of e-mail for general communication? If employers permit selective personal use of the e-mail system, but prohibit discussion related to unions and issues related to wages, hours and working conditions, this is legally problematic. In addition, employer monitoring of e-mail is a form of surveillance that may be prohibited during a union organizational campaign. The existing case law interpreting like issues under the NLRA will be analyzed in light of new issues arising with e-mail in the workplace. Recommendations for appropriate resolution of the competing interests of employers, unions, and employees will be made.

Dickinson Law Review0012-2459106v.3no.573587pp. 573-587Winter 2002

Dickinson Law Review

0012-2459

106v.3no.573587pp. 573-587Winter 2002

106v.

106

3no.

no.

573587pp. 573-587

573

587

pp. 573-587

Winter 2002

Use of this resource is governed by the terms and conditions of the "Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 3.0 United States" license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/us/)

Business Law

MChBEnglisheng

MChB

Englisheng

English

eng