Employee Rights Violations

The Court of Appeals held that by not allowing the union representative to be present in the investigation, Weingarten violated Section 8(a)(1) of the National Labor Relations Act. An employer cannot interfere with or coerce employees in the “exercise of rights guaranteed in section 157.” If an employee seeks assistance of a union representative, that falls under a concerted activity, which is protected under Section 7. Employees have the right to engage in concerted activities for “mutual aid or protection.” Furthermore, the day after the interview, Weingarten Inc. ordered that there should be no more free lunches. This was a violation of Section 8(a)(5) and under the collective bargaining agreement, this action was an arbitrable grievance.
The Supreme Court held that asking for union representation during an investigation is a concerted activity. If the employee is fearful, the representative can participate in the investigation and help find out any other information. The Weingarten Rights consist of 3 rules.
The first rule is that the employee must make it clear that he/she wants a union representative with them in the interview before or during the interview. The employer then has three choices. It can allow a union representative to be present and proceed when he/she arrives. It can deny the request and not continue the interview or give the employee the choice of not having the interview without representation or ending the interview.