NLRB ruling does not find direct T-Mobile US infringement, but carrier dinged for broad interpretation
T-Mobile US had its labor practices dinged by the National Labor Relations Board, which found that wording in an employee handbook might prevent workers from organizing or discussing work-related problems.
The National Labor Relations Board was looking into claims that T-Mobile US’ employee handbook contains conditions that limit employees from discussions of topics in the book with people not employed by the carrier. That wording states:
“This Employee Handbook is for the sole use by employees of T-Mobile and its U.S. based affiliates and subsidiaries. This Handbook is a confidential and proprietary Company document, and must not be disclosed to or used by any third party without the prior written consent of the Company.”
NLRB Judge Christine Dibble said she did not find that the actual wording violated Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act, which allows for employees to discuss employee-related information or form a union, but did note the wording was broad enough that it might “chill” an employee’s exercising of their rights.
“There is also no substantive evidence that the rule was created in response to union activity,” Judge Dibble wrote. “Moreover, nothing establishes that the rule was applied to restrict employees’ exercise of their Section 7 activities. Notably, there is no evidence that any employee has been disciplined based on the rule. … The language could reasonably be understood by employees as prohibiting them from sharing and discussing the handbook with union representatives or governmental investigative bodies.”
T-Mobile US downplayed the ruling, noting it was just a technical issue in the wording of its policies.
“This is simply a ruling about a technical issue in the law that relates to policies that are common to companies across the country,” T-Mobile US said in a statement. “There are no allegations that any employee has been impacted by these policies.”
The Communications Workers of America applauded the verdict, calling out T-Mobile US parent company Deutsche Telekom for allowing its U.S. subsidiary to infringe on employee rights.
“This decision exposes the deliberate campaign by T-Mobile US management to break the law systematically and on a nationwide scale, blocking workers from exercising their right to organize and bargain collectively,” said CWA President Larry Cohen in a statement. “This behavior can only be changed by a nationwide remedy to restore workers’ rights. Deutsche Telekom, the principal owner of T-Mobile US, has claimed that its U.S. subsidiary follows the law. Now we have the official word: T-Mobile US is a lawbreaker. Bonn, the headquarters of DT, no longer can hide behind the false statements made by T-Mobile US executives. These behaviors would be almost unimaginable in Germany or any other democracy in the world.”
CWA has a history of questioning T-Mobile US’ business practices in terms of an impact on its employees. CWA was against T-Mobile US’ acquisition of MetroPCS, claiming it could cost 10,000 jobs, and asked the U.S. Department of Labor to grant trade adjustment assistance benefits to T-Mobile US customer service agents who lost their jobs.
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