Protected employee concerted activity: hospitality-industry implications

Many fired employees now challenge their terminations by going to court. Employees can file charges with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) claiming a violation of the protected concerted activity provision of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). The NLRB's current interpretation of protected concerted activity is that an employee or employees must be acting on behalf of other employees in complaining about wages, hours, or working conditions, or trying to enforce a provision in the collective-bargaining agreement. Before a manager decides to discharge or discipline an employee, it is wise to determine whether the employee is engaged in protected concerted activity. If so, the employee is protected by Section 7 of the NLRA and, if discharged, may then have to be reinstated, most likely with full back pay.