Protected concerted activity
Encyclopedia
Protected Concerted Activity is a legal term used in labor policy to define employee protection against employer retaliation. It is a legal principle under the subject of the freedom of association
. It defines the activities workers may partake in without fear of employer retaliation. In countries where there is relatively robust employee dismissal protection, the protection of protected concerted activity is less of a distinct legal issue. In liberal market societies like the United States, where it is easy for an employer to fire an employee, the issue of protected concerted activity has become an important employment protection.
The National Labor Relations Act
, the main labor policy governing labor relations in the United States, defines concerted activity in Section 7.
Generally speaking, there is protected concerted activity when two or more employees act together to improve their terms and conditions of employment. Employees have a right to advocate in this manner even where there is no union involved. At times, protected concerted activity has extended to individual employees, like for example when an employee speaks individually to his or her employer on behalf of him or herself and one or more co-workers about improving workplace conditions. Another example of an individual being protected for concerted activity is when an employee contacts a federal government agency like the Occupational Safety and Health Administration
.
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Freedom of association
Freedom of association is the individual right to come together with other individuals and collectively express, promote, pursue and defend common interests....
. It defines the activities workers may partake in without fear of employer retaliation. In countries where there is relatively robust employee dismissal protection, the protection of protected concerted activity is less of a distinct legal issue. In liberal market societies like the United States, where it is easy for an employer to fire an employee, the issue of protected concerted activity has become an important employment protection.
The National Labor Relations Act
National Labor Relations Act
The National Labor Relations Act or Wagner Act , is a 1935 United States federal law that limits the means with which employers may react to workers in the private sector who create labor unions , engage in collective bargaining, and take part in strikes and other forms of concerted activity in...
, the main labor policy governing labor relations in the United States, defines concerted activity in Section 7.
Section 7 - Employees shall have the right to self-organization, to form, join, or assist labor organizations, to bargain collectively through representatives of their own choosing, and to engage in other concerted activities for the purpose of collective bargaining or other mutual aid or protection...
Generally speaking, there is protected concerted activity when two or more employees act together to improve their terms and conditions of employment. Employees have a right to advocate in this manner even where there is no union involved. At times, protected concerted activity has extended to individual employees, like for example when an employee speaks individually to his or her employer on behalf of him or herself and one or more co-workers about improving workplace conditions. Another example of an individual being protected for concerted activity is when an employee contacts a federal government agency like the Occupational Safety and Health Administration
Occupational Safety and Health Administration
The United States Occupational Safety and Health Administration is an agency of the United States Department of Labor. It was created by Congress of the United States under the Occupational Safety and Health Act, signed by President Richard M. Nixon, on December 29, 1970...
.
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