Ray Ripple Quoted in “Management-side bar braces for fallout from ‘Stericycle’” in Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly

September 6, 2023

On August 2, 2023, the National Labor Relations Board issued a decision in Stericycle Inc. that has management-side lawyers and their clients rushing to reevaluate work rules to determine whether they may now be deemed to unlawfully chill employee rights to engage in concerted activity. The highly anticipated decision, which was issued by a divided NLRB, overruled the prior standard established by the Trump Administration. Ray Ripple spoke with Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly about the case.

“This is just one of several employee-friendly decisions handed down in the last six to eight months from the NLRB,” he said. “It’s an unwinding of some of the things that were put into place under the prior administration and makeup of the NLRB.”

Ray also noted that Stericycle creates uncertainty for employers, stating:

“Before, [the question was] what a reasonable employee would think when reading this policy — would they interpret it to chill their Section 7 rights. Now, it’s going to be looked at from the perspective of an employee who is economically dependent on that employer and who wants to engage in some protected action. ‘Does that civility policy that’s in my employer’s handbook limit me in any way from exercising those rights?’”

Continue reading “Management-side bar braces for fallout from ‘Stericycle’” on the Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly website (subscription required).