Employers may wish to review policies that regulate expression in the workplace to make sure the policies have a legitimate business purpose. A policy of Whole Foods Markets, Inc. restricting employees from recording conversations without prior approval from leadership was recently upheld by the National Labor Relations Board. The communication of the Whole Foods Policy explained its purpose as intending to eliminate a chilling effect on the expression of views when a person is concerned that a conversation with another is being secretly recorded.
The NLRB Administrative Law Judge cited the stated purpose of the policy when finding that the policy did not violate the National Labor Relations Act. It held that the purpose of the policy was legitimate, and Whole Foods did not establish the policy in order to thwart union activity
Employers that have or wish to implement policies that restrict recording devices in the workplace should consider stating a legitimate business purpose in the communication of the policy to employees.
