Weingarten Rights
The Right to Request Representation During an Investigatory Interview
Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) protects employees’ 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 and protection”
Among the rights protected by Section 7 is the right of employees, upon request, to have their representative present during an interview that the employee reasonably believes could lead to discipline. This right was first articulated by the Supreme Court in the case, NLRB v. J. Weingarten, Inc. In that case, the Court found that Section 7 of the NLRA protects employees who refuse to submit to certain interviews without a requested representative present. While under current Board law, only union-represented employees have this right, the NLRB General Counsel is asking the Board to return to its previous rule that all employees have the right, whether represented by a union or not.