Too Much Confidentiality Can Violate Labor Laws
The Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit agreed that confidentiality agreements were too broad so as to violate labor laws in Cintas Corp. v. NLRB, 2007 WL 776875 (D.C. Cir. 3/16/07).
Cintas is a major corporation employing about 27,000 people. The issue in this case was sections of the handbook titled "Cintas Culture." Two sections came under scrutiny: (1) all information concerning the company is confidential; and (2) employees may be sanctioned for violating a confidence or for the unauthorized release of confidential information.
The union UNITE filed unfair labor practice charges with the NLRB. They claimed the policy was so broad that it violated 29 U.S.C. § 158(a)(1), which prohibits employer interference with employees' rights to discuss terms and conditions of their employment with others. The NLRB agreed and ordered Cintas to amend the language of the handbook.
The Court of Appeals affirmed the decision; Cintas will have to amend its handbook to make sure its confidentiality requirements do not violate federal labor law.
