The Employer’s Wage and Hour Advisor

All employers—and not just union employers—beware: On August 2, 2023, in the long-awaited Stericycle Inc. decision, the National Labor Relations Board (the “NLRB” or the “Board”) announced a return to the detailed analysis of work rules on August 2, 2023. This decision has significant impact on all employee handbooks and other workplace rules as the Board returns to the Obama-era standard set forth in Lutheran Heritage, with a slight modification. The Stericycle standard now asks whether “a challenged rule has a reasonable tendency to chill employees from exercising  their Section 7 rights,” looking at the rule from the perspective of an employee who is not only subject to the rule, but also economically depending on the employer. If so, the rule is considered presumptively unlawful.