104 Iowa L. Rev. 985 (2019)

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Abstract

Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act (“NLRA”) protects employees who engage in concerted activities for purposes of mutual aid and protection. The National Labor Relations Board (“the Board”) enforces section 7 by protecting employee speech when the speech is related to concerted activity. The Board, using a broad interpretation of section 7, has extended protection to offensive speech, even hate speech. This Note argues that this broad interpretation of section 7 to protect hate speech is contrary to public policy and does not properly account for employers’ interest in not being associated with employees who engage in hate speech. This Note further argues for a reworked approach to cases involving offensive speech. The reworked approach incorporates a categorization of the speech to determine the level of protection. This approach properly considers employers’ interests while maintaining the NLRA’s purpose—to prevent employer unfair labor practices.