Under President Donald Trump’s administration, employers may be able to anticipate many changes in the regulatory and legal environment. In particular, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), which had been very pro-union under President Barack Obama, may shift its focus.
Just one example includes how federal regulators in recent years have increasingly scrutinized many parts of employee handbooks and found that they could be illegal under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). Consider a recent case involving T-Mobile USA, which had handbook provisions designed to maintain a professional work environment. According to one of the company’s rules, “Employees are expected to maintain a positive work environment by communicating in a manner that is conducive to effective working relationships with internal and external customers, clients, co-workers, and management.”