News-At-A-Glance: NLRB Invalidates Employee Standards of Behavior

The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) in an April 1 ruling found that Hills and Dales General Hospital (Cass City, Mich.) violated the National Labor Relations Act because of certain policies in its employee handbook. The case concerned an employee, Danielle Corliss, who was disciplined for a Facebook posting that disparaged the hospital, violating some of the policies in the handbook. The NLRB held that policies that prohibited employees from making negative comments about fellow team members and prohibited employees from engaging in or listening to negativity or gossip were invalid. Also, a policy that required employees to present the hospital positively in the community was also illegal because employees could reasonably construe the policies to prohibit engaging in protected activities, said the NLRB. As part of the ruling, the hospital was required to post a notice that announced the deletion of the standards and behavior policies the NLRB found to be a problem.