Question about 'open door' policies

Mike Zinser

Question: Is lawful for an employer to have an "open door" policy that urges employees to go to management with their workplace complaints?

Answer: In a recent case interpreting the National Labor Relations Act, an employee handbook stated the following:

"Voice your complaints directly to your immediate supervisor, or to Human Resources, through our 'open door policy.' Complaining to your fellow employees will not resolve problems. Constructive complaints communicated through the appropriate channels may help improve the workplace for all."

The National Labor Relations Board ruled that the policy violated the NLRA because it would reasonably tend to chill employees and their exercise of activities protected by the Act. The NLRB's position is that employees would reasonably interpret the rule to preclude them from discussing their complaints with their coworkers and others.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit disagreed and reversed the NLRB, with respect to that policy ruling. The Court stated:

"The handbook urges employees to voice their complaints to their supervisors or to Human Resources, but the language is neither mandatory nor preclusive of alternatives. ... Moreover, the handbook does not prescribe penalties for complaints to fellow employees. A reasonable employee would not read the provision, with its exhortatory language and lack of penalties, to prohibit complaints protected by § 7."

Note: Nothing in this SNPA Legal Hotline Q&A should be relied upon as legal advice in any particular matter.

L. Michael Zinser is the founding partner of The Zinser Law Firm in Nashville, Tenn. The firm, which has a heavy concentration of clients in communications media, represents management in the area of labor and employment. Zinser can be reached at (615) 244-9700 or mzinser@zinserlaw.com.

SNPA's free Legal Hotline for members – (844) 804-2016 – is designed to assist newspapers with a broad range of legal issues. Hotline attorneys and CPAs will tackle questions about circulation, independent contractors, labor and employment law, taxes, finances and accounting, employment benefits, open records, libel and privacy, and other issues newspapers encounter.

The attorneys and CPAs who will take calls from SNPA member newspapers are the best in the business:  The Bussian Law Firm PLLC, Fisher & Phillips, Way, Ray, Shelton & Co., P.C. and The Zinser Law Firm.