Another Day, Another Violation: Board Targets Hospital’s Work Rules Prohibiting Offensive Conduct

Seyfarth Synopsis: Board panel finds hospital’s work rule prohibiting employees from engaging in offensive conduct to be unlawful.

 

In Valley Health System, LLC d/b/a Spring Valley Hosp. Med. Ctr., 363 NLRB No. 178 (May 5, 2016), a unanimous Board panel (Pearce, Hirozawa, McFerran) found that a hospital acted unlawfully by maintaining certain work rules, including a rule prohibiting employees from engaging in conduct that “brings discredit on the System or Facility” or that is “offensive…to fellow employees,” and a rule prohibiting employees from speaking negatively about a coworker or the hospital.  In reversing the Administrative Law Judge’s finding that prohibiting “offensive” conduct was not unlawful, the Board panel noted that protected Section 7 activity often involves “controversy, blunt criticisms, and disagreements that may well be deemed ‘offensive’ by management or fellow employees.”  The Board panel further stated that the rule was not accompanied by any descriptive language or a list of other forms of misconduct that would help employees understand what type of conduct the rule intended to prohibit.

 

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