Companies have plenty of reason to want to keep their internal investigations as quiet as possible. Until the facts of a given case have been confirmed, airing allegations around the workplace has little upside.
But as with many aspects of employment law, the National Labor Relations Board has found reason to disagree with employers on this issue. In a recent case, an administrative law judge at the NLRB dismantled a confidentiality policy promulgated by T-Mobile US Inc. on the grounds that although the policy was intended to keep investigations private, it had the effect of chilling employees’ rights to discuss the terms and conditions of their employment. The ruling can serve as a warning to companies: when it comes to confidentiality, the NLRB isn’t making any secret of its desire to target company practices.
