Hospital groups urge NLRB to modify its standards for offensive speech

The National Labor Relations Board should conclude that employee conduct that occurs in a health care setting and violates a lawful employer rule is presumptively unprotected by the National Labor Relations Act, the AHA joined by the Federation of American Hospitals said in a Nov 12 friend-of-the-court brief. Adopting this modified standard would be consistent with longstanding congressional and Supreme Court recognition of the unique circumstances that arise in health care settings, and “the importance of safeguarding the tranquility of the health care environment,” the hospital groups said. They also agreed that the board should harmonize the Act’s protections with relevant anti-discrimination and anti-harassment laws, and should not have a separate standard for employee conduct on picket lines. They filed the brief in response to the board’s Sept. 25 invitation to file amicus briefs in General Motors LLC, which concerned protections under the Act for profane or offensive statements.