WASHINGTON – Today, Education and the Workforce Committee Chairwoman Virginia Foxx (R-NC) sent a letter to Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) Chair Charlotte Burrows requesting EEOC give the public an opportunity to comment and provide feedback before finalizing a joint memorandum with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) on workplace speech and conduct.
In the letter Foxx writes:“In 2023, the Biden administration NLRB overruled precedent and expanded the standard of offensive conduct and speech that employers must allow as protected activity under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). Absurd results have followed from this ruling. In January 2024, an NLRB administrative law judge (ALJ) ruled that Amazon could not fire a warehouse worker for using abusive, harassing, sexist, and misogynistic language directed at a female coworker using a bullhorn. The ALJ later ruled Amazon must reinstate the warehouse worker.”
The letter continues: “EEOC’s current stated policy is in stark contrast to the NLRB’s.In 2019, EEOC, on a bipartisan basis, authorized the filing of an amicus brief stating that an employer may discipline an employee for abusive or offensive statements that might be protected by the NLRA. … Any backsliding from the position taken in this amicus brief will demonstrate that the Biden administration’s insistence on appeasing labor unions takes precedence over protecting workers from harassment. It would also be a sad commentary on EEOC’s leadership. Ironically, EEOC only recently issued final guidance on workplace harassment, which will be a dead letter if EEOC accedes to the NLRB’s approach.”
Foxx concludes by asking the following questions:
Will EEOC post a draft EEOC-NLRB memorandum for public comment before a final memorandum is published, and, if so, for how many days will it be posted for public comment?
If a draft memorandum is posted, will EEOC take the comments it receives into consideration and revise the draft memorandum as necessary?
If a draft memorandum is not posted for public comment, what is EEOC’s justification for failing to take public comments on this important topic?
