In 1935 Congress enacted the National Labor Relation Act to ensure that the rights of employees and employers could be protected. In essence the NLRA is meant to encourage collective bargaining and to maintain checks and balances for management practices that could be seen as harmful to the general welfare of workers and businesses. One of the most important aspects of this act has to be your Weingarten Rights.
In essence the Weingarten rights GUARANTEES an employees right to having their Union Representation during an investigatory interview with management.
If during an interview with management questions begin to arise that seems to be fishing for information that could be used as a basis for discipline, or requests that the employee defend his/her conduct, the Weingarten Rights can be invoked.
Although it states under Article 32, Section 3 of our negotiated agreement that when it is known that an employee is involved in an infraction of the rules that could result in discipline, the supervisor shall inform the employee of their right to union representation, it is always best to assume that the responsibility to invoke your Weingarten Rights will fall to the employee. Once an employee invokes their Weingarten Rights, management has a few options:
Grant the request and schedule a time for the interview to continue once the employee has contacted and met with their representative.
Deny the request and then end the interview immediately
May give the employee the choice of continuing the conversation without their Representative or ending the interview.
If the request is denied, but the interview/questions continues, this can constitute as an Unfair Labor Practice. At this point the employee has the right to refuse to answer subsequent questions without fear of reprisal, BUT must remain until the interview is terminated by the supervisor. Leaving before dismissal can be seen as punishable insubordination.
Invoking your Weingarten rights gives you access to a Representative who is accustomed to navigating the interview process. We are able to assist in a few different ways including advising an employee on how to answer a question, asking for clarification on certain question and ensuring the interview is conducted properly and fairly.
Keep this phrase in mind and remember, know your rights
"If this discussion could in any way lead to my being disciplined or discharged, request that my Union representative be present at the meeting. Without representation, I choose not to answer any questions."
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