Motor City Pawn Brokers, Inc., Aubrey Brothers, LLC (d/b/a Motor City Pawn Brokers II), The Aubrey G

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Jul 24, 2020

369 N.L.R.B. 132 (N.L.R.B. 2020)

369 NLRB No. 132
NOTICE: This opinion is subject to formal revision before publication in the
bound volumes of NLRB decisions. Readers are requested to notify the Ex-
ecutive Secretary, National Labor Relations Board, Washington, D.C.
20570, of any typographical or other formal errors so that corrections can
be included in the bound volumes.
Motor City Pawn Brokers Inc., The Aubrey Group
Inc., and Aubrey Brothers, LLC, a single em-
ployer and Terrence Walker and Patricia Tilmon.
Cases 07–CA–179458 and 07–CA–179461
July 24, 2020
DECISION, ORDER, AND NOTICE TO
SHOW CAUSE
BY CHAIRMAN RING AND MEMBERS KAPLAN
AND EMANUEL
On October 22, 2018, Administrative Law Judge Eliza-
beth M. Tafe issued the attached decision, and on Novem-
ber 14, 2018, she issued an Errata. The Respondent filed
exceptions and a supporting brief, the General Counsel
and Charging Parties filed answering briefs, and the Re-
spondent filed reply briefs. In addition, the Charging Par-
ties filed cross-exceptions and a supporting brief, and the
Respondent filed an answering brief.
The National Labor Relations Board has considered the
decision and the record in light of the exceptions and
briefs1 and has decided to affirm the judge’s rulings, find-
ings, and conclusions2 only to the extent consistent with
this Decision and Order.3
I. BACKGROUND
The Respondent operates several pawn brokerages in
the Detroit metropolitan area. The General Counsel al-
leges that multiple provisions set forth in separate employ-
ment documents maintained by the Respondent violate
Section 8(a)(1). Specifically, the allegations pertain to
1 The General Counsel’s motion to strike the Respondent’s excep-
tions on the ground that they fail to meet the specificity requirements of
Sec. 102.46 of the Board’s Rules is denied. Although the Respondent’s
exceptions do not conform in all particulars to Sec. 102.46, they are not
so deficient as to warrant striking.
2 For the reasons stated by the judge, we dismiss the allegations that
the Respondent unlawfully maintained its “Outside of Work Behavior”
rule, its rule describing the acceptable use of social media, and its rule
restricting recording in the workplace.
3 We shall amend the judge’s conclusions of law and remedy, and we
shall substitute a new Order and notice to conform to the violations found
and the Board’s standard remedial language, and in accordance with our
recent decision in Danbury Ambulance Service, Inc., 369 NLRB No. 68
(2020).
4 In finding that provisions of the Respondent’s mandatory arbitration
agreement are unlawful, we note that the Employee Agreement explicitly
requires arbitration of disputes arising under the National Labor Rela-
tions Act, and that the Contract and Receipt requires arbitration as the
exclusive method of resolving any statutory claim and includes an ex-
press waiver of the right to adjudicate any claim against the Respondent
before any federal agency. Accordingly, because we find that the provi-
sions are facially unlawful, there is no need to consider the Respondent’s
provisions found in the Respondent’s Employment Agree-
ment; the contract between the Company and employee
and Employee Handbook Receipt (Contract and Receipt);
the Employee Handbook; and an updated version of the
handbook (Updated Handbook). The General Counsel
further alleges that the Respondent unlawfully discharged
four employees for refusing to sign documents that re-
quired them to agree to be bound by the allegedly unlawful
rules.
We adopt the judge’s findings that the Respondent vio-
lated Section 8(a)(1) by maintaining a mandatory arbitra-
tion agreement that interferes with employees’ rights to
file charges with, participate in, and access the Board and
its processes;4 the indemnity provisions of the Employ-
ment Agreement and the Contract and Receipt, which, in-
ter alia, unlawfully require employees to defray the Re-
spondent’s costs of enforcing the unlawful arbitration
agreement; the rule prohibiting unauthorized disclosure of
the Employee Handbooks; and the rules in the Employee
Agreement, Employee Handbook, and Updated Hand-
book restricting association with and solicitation of other
employees.5
We additionally adopt the judge’s findings that the Re-
spondent unlawfully discharged employees Terrence
Walker, Patricia Tilmon, Gianluca Bartolucci, and Ringo
Salzar for failing to sign the Employment Agreement and
Contract and Receipt that required them to agree to be
bound by the Respondent’s work rules, including the un-
lawful arbitration and indemnity provisions. See Alorica,
Inc., 368 NLRB No. 25, slip op. at 1 fn. 3 (2019) (finding
respondent violated Sec. 8(a)(1) by discharging employ-
ees for refusing to sign arbitration agreement that
justification for the rules. See Prime Healthcare Paradise Valley, LLC,
368 NLRB No. 10, slip op. at 5 (2019), and cases cited there.
5 With respect to the rules restricting association with and solicitation
of other employees, we find them unlawful in accord with longstanding
precedent governing employer restrictions on such employee conduct.
Boeing did not disturb that precedent, which already strikes a balance
between employee rights and employer interests. UPMC, UPMC Pres-
byterian Shadyside, 366 NLRB No. 142, slip op. 1 fn. 5 (2018). We do
not rely on the judge’s citation to Hispanics United of Buffalo, 359
NLRB 368 (2012), which was invalidated as a result of the Supreme
Court’s decision in NLRB v. Noel Canning, 573 U.S. 513 (2014).
Consistent with UPMC Presbyterian Shadyside, supra, Chairman
Ring agrees that the Respondent’s solicitation rule is unlawful under
longstanding precedent Boeing did not disturb, but he would apply Boe-
ing to the Respondent’s rule restricting association with other employees.
This rule, among other things, prohibits employees from associating with
each other “for [their] own benefit,” which reasonably encompasses a
prohibition on acting in concert for the purpose of mutual aid or protec-
tion. Because this rule, when reasonably interpreted, would interfere
with the exercise of Sec. 7 rights, and because that interference out-
weighs any legitimate justification, Chairman Ring would find the rule
unlawful and place it in Boeing Category 3.
DECISIONS OF THE NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD2
unlawfully restricted employee access to the Board and its
processes).
However, for the reasons stated below, we reverse her
findings that the Respondent unlawfully maintained the
following rules prohibiting disclosure of confidential in-
formation, establishing employee standards of conduct,
prohibiting disparagement of the Respondent, and limiting
employee use of email and the Internet.6
A. Rules Prohibiting Disclosure of
Confidential Information
The General Counsel alleged that the Respondent un-
lawfully maintained the following provisions in its Em-
ployment Agreement. 7
3. Confidentiality, Non-Competition and Non-Solicita-
tion.
a. Confidentiality. The relationship with Em-
ployer has been one and/or will be one of trust and
confidence and there has been and/or will be available
to Employee . . . information relating to trade secrets
and proprietary interests of Employer, Related Enti-
ties . . . and their clients, employees, independent con-
tractors, vendors, subcontractors, business pro-
spects, and /or referral sources which include . . . rec-
ords and information dealing with projects, business
opportunities, intellectual property, data storage and
custom design solutions, customer lists, customer in-
formation, customer matters; customer identities,
business strategies, business methods, security meth-
ods, business procedures, business practices, services,
concepts, ideas (whether tangible or intangible), for-
mulae, applications, inventions, software, calcula-
tions, analyses, projects, plans, profit margins, prices,
processes, operating. procedures [sic], designs, sys-
tems, source code, research, development activities,
technical or scientific information, know—how [sic],
products, financial information, access codes, and all
information contained in or on the computer hard
drives and/or servers of Employer, and other items
relative thereto, whether or not copyrighted, patented
or patentable (herein collectively and individually re-
ferred to as the “Confidential Information”). The
Confidential Information, regardless of form, is, and
shall always remain, the sole and exclusive property
of Employer and/or related entities. Employee shall
not reverse engineer, disassemble, or decompile any
6 There is no allegation that the Respondent applied these rules to
restrict protected activity or that the rules were promulgated in response
to protected activity.
7 The General Counsel now contends in its answering brief that these
rules are lawful.
prototypes, software, or other tangible objects that
embody the Confidential Information.8
In addition, paragraphs regarding the “Non-Disclosure
of Employer’s Confidential Information” and “Other In-
formation” state that the employee shall not disclose con-
fidential information, information concerning the business
of the Employer, or confidential information related to the
employee’s previous employers.
The Respondent also maintained the following provi-
sions in its Employee Handbook and Updated Handbook.
Prohibited Activities (Standards of Conduct)
. . .
Disclosure of Company trade secrets or any other
confidential or proprietary information of the Com-
pany, its customers or fellow employees.
Workplace Expectations
. . . Confidential information, including . . . infor-
mation about marketing plans, costs, earnings, docu-
ments, notes, files, lists and medical files, records,
oral information, computer files or similar materials
(except in the ordinary course of performing duties on
behalf of Company) may not be removed from Com-
pany's premises without permission. Employees
must not disclose confidential information, confiden-
tial financial data, or other non-public proprietary in-
formation of the Company, nor may employees share
confidential information regarding business partners,
vendors, or customers.
This Confidentiality Policy does not apply, and will not
be enforced, in any manner that would restrict, infringe
upon or otherwise limit employees’ rights under the Na-
tional Labor Relations Act, including, without limitation
the right to engage in concerted activities for the purpose
of mutual aid and protection.
B. Rules Establishing Employee Standards of Conduct
The General Counsel alleged that the Respondent un-
lawfully maintained the following provisions in the Em-
ployee Handbook and Updated Handbook.
Prohibited Activities (Standards of Conduct)
. . .
8 The original provision does not contain bolded language. We have
added the emphases here in order to highlight the specific language in
the provision that is alleged to be unlawful.
MOTOR CITY PAWN BROKERS INC. 3
Use of obscene or otherwise inappropriate language or
conduct in the work place
Bad mouthing or spreading rumors. [Emphasis added.]9
. . .
The Handbook and Updated Handbook also include the fol-
lowing provisions.
By agreeing to work at Motor City Pawn Brokers you
have agreed to follow the Company's rules and to refrain
from conduct which is detrimental to our goals.
Workplace Bullying
At Motor City Pawn Brokers we define bullying as un-
wanted, inappropriate, aggressive behavior, either direct
or indirect, whether it be physical, verbal or in any other
form. It involves a real or perceived power imbalance.
Bullying can be conducted by one or more persons in-
volved against others at the place of employment or can
occur off Company property.
. . .
Be Honest
I will conduct myself in a manner that will allow me to
always be able to tell the truth and be at peace. I realize
that I am above any theft, deception, lies or dishonesty
. . .
C. Rules Prohibiting Disparagement of the Respondent
The General Counsel alleged that the Respondent un-
lawfully maintained the following provisions in its Em-
ployment Agreement.10
3. Confidentiality, Non-Competition and Non-Solicita-
tion.
. . .
l. Non-Disparagement. Employee shall refrain from
communicating orally, or in writing, or by any other
manner whatsoever to any customer or third party, any
disparaging claim, remark, allegation, statement, opin-
ion, comment, innuendo or information of any kind or
nature whatsoever, the effect of or intention of which is
to cause embarrassment, disparagement, damage or in-
jury to the reputation, business, or standing in the
9 Only the bolded language is alleged to be unlawful.
10 The additional prohibition in the “Dealing with Customers” section
of the Employment Agreement stating “Employee shall not disclose the
terms and conditions of this Agreement” was not alleged to be unlawful
in the complaint and is not before us.
community of Customers, Employer and/or Related En-
tities, and their customers, members, managers, officers,
owners, employees, independent contractors, agents, at-
torneys, or representatives, regardless of whether any
such communication is or may be true or founded in
facts.
m. Dealings with Customers. . . . Employee shall not
attempt to negative [sic] influence or otherwise discour-
age or dissuade any Customer or other party from main-
taining its relationship with Employer.
The General Counsel also alleged that the Respondent
unlawfully maintained the following provision in its Em-
ployee Handbook and Updated Handbook.
Prohibited Activities (Standards of Conduct)
. . .
Off-duty conduct which can affect the Company’s cred-
ibility or reputation.
D. Rules Limiting Employee Use of Email, the Internet,
and Social Media
Finally, the General Counsel alleged that the Respond-
ent unlawfully maintained the following provisions in its
Employee Handbook and Updated Handbook. 11
Internet Etiquette
When at work stick to work. . . . Computers, printers, fax
machines and other equipment are to be used exclusively
for the business activities of the Company. Users are
permitted to access the Internet and electronic commu-
nications systems to assist in the performance of their
jobs. The following behaviors are banned from Motor
City Pawn Brokers:
. . .
 sending personal emails
 chatting
. . .
 utilizing Facebook and other social networking
sites
 blogging . . .
11 The General Counsel attempted to withdraw the “Internet Etiquette”
allegations after the hearing and requests that these allegations, along
with the “Social Media is unacceptable” provision, be dismissed.
DECISIONS OF THE NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD4
Social Media is unacceptable if it:
. . .
Compromises or may compromise the confidentiality of
proprietary, or other sensitive information of the Com-
pany, [its] officers, owners, employees, agents, contrac-
tors, clients, merchants, or representatives including,
without limitation, the disclosure of trade secrets (in-
cluding, without limitation, information regarding the
development of products, processes, technology, sys-
tems, and know-how), financial records, internal busi-
ness-related confidential communications and memo-
randa, client and merchant lists, client and merchant in-
formation, client and merchant account records, pricing
records, business forms, and strategic planning infor-
mation. . . .
II. ANALYSIS
In Boeing Company, the Board set out a new standard
for determining whether a facially neutral work rule, rea-
sonably interpreted, would unlawfully interfere with, re-
strain, or coerce employees in the exercise of their Section
7 rights. 365 NLRB No. 154, slip op. at 3 (2017). The
Board overruled the “reasonably construe” prong deline-
ated in Lutheran Heritage Village-Livonia, 343 NLRB
646 (2004), which held that a work rule that did not other-
wise violate Section 8(a)(1) would be found unlawful if
employees would reasonably construe it to prohibit Sec-
tion 7 activity. Id., slip op. at 1, 2. Instead, the Board in
Boeing held that
when evaluating a facially neutral policy, rule or hand-
book provision that, when reasonably interpreted, would
potentially interfere with the exercise of NLRA rights,
the Board will evaluate two things: (i) the nature and ex-
tent of the potential impact on NLRA rights, and (ii) le-
gitimate justifications associated with the rule.
Id., slip op. at 3 (emphasis in original). In conducting this
evaluation, the Board will “strike the proper balance between
. . . asserted business justifications behind the policies, on the
one hand, and the invasion of employees’ rights in light of the
Act and its policy.” Id., slip op. at 3 (emphasis in original)
(quoting NLRB v. Great Dane Trailers, Inc., 388 U.S. 26, 33–
34 (1967)). In considering the latter, the Board will rely on a
reasonable employee's perspective. Id., slip op. at 16.
With this balancing in mind, and in an effort to provide
guidance, the Board has created the following categories
for work rules that fall under Boeing:
Category 1 will include rules that the Board designates
as lawful to maintain, either because ([a]) the rule, when
reasonably interpreted, does not prohibit or interfere
with the exercise of NLRA rights; or ([b]) the potential
adverse impact on protected rights is outweighed by jus-
tifications associated with the rule. . . .
Category 2 will include rules that warrant individualized
scrutiny in each case as to whether the rule would pro-
hibit or interfere with NLRA rights, and if so, whether
any adverse impact on NLRA-protected conduct is out-
weighed by legitimate justifications.
Category 3 will include rules that the Board will desig-
nate as unlawful to maintain because they would prohibit
or limit NLRA-protected conduct, and the adverse im-
pact on NLRA rights is not outweighed by justifications
associated with the rule.
Id., slip op. at 3–4 (emphasis in original). However, these
categories “represent a classification of results from the
Board’s application of the new test” and “are not part of the
test itself.” Id., slip op. at 4 (emphasis in original).
In LA Specialty Produce Co., 368 NLRB No. 93 (2019),
the Board provided further guidance regarding how it will
determine the legality of work rules under Boeing. As ex-
plained in LA Specialty, the General Counsel has the initial
burden to prove that a facially neutral rule would, when
read in context, be interpreted by a reasonable employee
as potentially interfering with the exercise of Section 7
rights. Id., slip op. at 2. If that burden is not met, then the
Board does not need to address the employer’s legitimate
justifications for the rule; the rule is lawful and fits within
Boeing Category 1(a). Id.
If the General Counsel does meet the initial burden of
proving that a reasonable employee would interpret a rule
as potentially interfering with the exercise of Section 7
rights, the Board will balance that potential interference
against the employer’s legitimate justifications for the
rule. Id., slip op. at 3. When the balance favors the em-
ployer’s interests, the rule at issue will be lawful and will
fit within Boeing Category 1(b). When the potential inter-
ference with Section 7 rights outweighs any possible em-
ployer justifications, the rule at issue will be unlawful and
fit within Boeing Category 3. Finally, in some instances,
“it will not be possible to draw any broad conclusions
about the legality of a particular rule because the context
of the rule and the competing rights and interests involved
are specific to that rule and that employer.” Id. These
rules will fit within Boeing Category 2.
A. Rules Prohibiting Disclosure of
Confidential Information
Applying Boeing, the judge found that the confidential-
ity rules set forth above in the Employment Agreement
and both handbooks are unlawfully overbroad because
MOTOR CITY PAWN BROKERS INC. 5
they “do not sufficiently define or distinguish among the
terms ‘proprietary,’ ‘confidential,’ or so called ‘trade se-
crets,’” and that the Respondent’s business justifications,
which include concerns that proprietary information may
be disclosed to competitors, do not outweigh the rules’ po-
tential interference with employee rights.
We agree with the judge that employees have a Section
7 right to discuss among themselves, and with the public,
information about their terms and conditions of employ-
ment for the purpose of mutual aid and protection. See
Eastex, Inc. v. NLRB, 437 U.S. 556, 565–566 (1978).
However, we find that objectively reasonable employees,
reading the provisions at issue here in context, would not
interpret them to interfere with such rights. The catalogue
of information identified as confidential in the Employ-
ment Agreement includes such examples as “business op-
portunities, intellectual property, data storage and custom
design solutions, customer lists, . . . business strategies,
business methods, security methods, . . . formulae, appli-
cations, inventions, software,” and other specific exam-
ples of obviously proprietary business information. Simi-
larly, the list of confidential information described in the
Employee Handbook and the Updated Handbook includes
“information about marketing plans, costs, earnings, doc-
uments, notes, files, lists and medical files, . . . computer
files or similar materials.” None of the examples listed in
the Respondent’s documents would lead employees to
reasonably think that matters relating to their employment
terms were encompassed within the Respondent’s defini-
tion of confidential and proprietary information. See Me-
diaone of Greater Florida, 340 NLRB 277, 278 (2003)
(finding that employees would not read a rule prohibiting
disclosure of proprietary business information, which
listed “customer and employee information, including or-
ganizational charts and databases” in a long list of nondis-
closable “proprietary information,” to prohibit them from
sharing information about their employment terms); see
also National Indemnity Co., 368 NLRB No. 96, slip op.
at 2–3 (2019) (finding lawful rule requiring employees to
keep confidential non-public information “that might be
of use to competitors or harmful to the [c]ompany or its
12 Moreover, the savings clause in the handbooks stating that “[t]his
Confidentiality Policy does not apply, and will not be enforced, in any
manner that would restrict, infringe upon or otherwise limit employees’
rights under [the Act],” would further confirm to employees that these
provisions do not prohibit them from disclosing their terms and condi-
tions of employment or their contact or other applicable information for
union and other protected activities. Although the judge discounts the
effect of the savings clause by noting that it is several pages away from
the allegedly unlawful provision listing prohibited activities under its
Standards of Conduct and is not anywhere in the Employment Agree-
ment, the savings clause expressly refers to, and immediately follows,
the confidentiality policy in the Employee Handbook and Updated Hand-
book and would reasonably be understood as also applying to the similar
customers if disclosed”). A reasonable employee would
not read the handbooks’ references to the “proprietary in-
formation . . . of employees” without taking into account
the specific examples of confidential information listed in
the documents.12 Accordingly, we reverse the judge and
dismiss the allegations regarding the above confidentiality
rules because employees would reasonably understand,
from the numerous examples of confidential information
specified in the Employment Agreement and the Em-
ployee Handbooks, that they are limited to prohibiting dis-
closure of legitimately confidential and proprietary infor-
mation rather than information pertaining to employees’
terms and conditions of employment.13
B. Rules Establishing Employee Standards of Conduct
The judge concluded that the conduct rules described
above would unlawfully interfere with employees’ rights
to discuss their working conditions and make “common
cause” with others and, further, that the Respondent’s gen-
eral desire to maintain a civil work environment did not
outweigh the potential interference with Section 7 activity.
We disagree and reverse. The work rules at issue fall
squarely into the category of lawful, commonsense, fa-
cially neutral rules that require employees to foster “har-
monious interactions and relationships” in the workplace
and adhere to basic standards of civility. See Boeing, su-
pra, slip op. at 4 fn. 15. Accordingly, we reverse the judge
and find the above rules lawful.14
C. Rules Prohibiting Disparagement of the Respondent
The judge found the nondisparagement rules described
above unlawful after determining that they would have a
reasonable tendency to interfere with employees’ Section
7 right to seek outside support, including from customers
and the public, concerning their terms and conditions of
employment. Although she recognized that “it is under-
standable that the Respondent would want to control its
image and the information made public, and that it would
not want its customers to be dissuaded from maintaining
their relationship with the Respondent,” the judge sum-
marily concluded that “these generalized explanations for
the rules do not outweigh the important, long-recognized
confidentiality provision in the Employment Agreement. Even without
the savings clause, however, a reasonable employee would understand
from the context of the rules that they do not restrict their protected and
union activities, as explained above.
13 Under Boeing, we place the Respondent’s confidentiality rules in
Category 1(a). See, e.g., LA Specialty, supra, slip op. at 2.
Because the General Counsel has not shown that the rules, when read
in context, would be interpreted by a reasonable employee to potentially
interfere with the exercise of Sec. 7 rights, we need not address the em-
ployer’s legitimate justifications for maintaining them.
14 Under Boeing, we place the Respondent's civility rules in Category
1(a). See, e.g., LA Specialty, supra, slip op. at 2.
DECISIONS OF THE NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD6
protected right of employees to seek support from third-
parties.” Because we find that the judge failed to ade-
quately weigh the legitimate justifications for the Re-
spondent’s nondisparagement rules, we reverse the judge
and find the nondisparagement rules lawful.
The Supreme Court long ago held that, notwithstanding
the passage of the Act, employers have a legitimate justi-
fication in being able to depend on the loyalty of their em-
ployees. In NLRB v. Electrical Workers Local 1229 (Jef-
ferson Standard), the Supreme Court upheld the discharge
of employees who distributed handbills attacking the qual-
ity of their employer’s product and its business practices
without relating their criticisms to a labor controversy.
The Court explicitly acknowledged that “[t]here is no
more elemental cause for discharge of an employee than
disloyalty.” 346 U.S. 464, 472 (1953). The Court also
noted that, in providing employees the statutory right to
engage in protected activities under the Act, Congress
“did not weaken the underlying contractual bonds and loy-
alties of employer and employee.” Id. The Court con-
cluded that, even if the employees who made the dispar-
aging comments about the employer did so in a concerted
manner within the scope of Section 7, “the means used by
the [employees] in conducting the attack have deprived
the attackers of the protection of that section when read in
the light and context of the purpose of the Act.” Id. at
477–478.
Such fundamental bonds and loyalties integral to the
employment relationship underscored by the Court in Jef-
ferson Standard cannot be adequately protected if an em-
ployer is prohibited from maintaining facially neutral
rules against disloyalty and disparagement. An employer
has a legitimate interest in conveying to employees its ex-
pectation that they will perform their jobs in a manner that
will do the employer proud, without sabotaging or other-
wise impairing its operations. After all, the success—if
not the continued existence—of an employer is often de-
pendent on maintaining its reputation with current or pro-
spective customers and preventing the harm to its com-
mercial image from having its products or services pub-
licly disparaged or misrepresented. At the same time, the
employer has an interest in ensuring that employees are
invested in building a collaborative work environment in
which the employer, for whom they work and on whom
they depend for their livelihood, can be most successful in
advancing its business relationships.
The Board, too, has recognized employers’ legitimate
justifications in prohibiting employees from disparaging
their employer or its products to the employer’s customers
15 Notably, the Respondent’s nondisparagement rules do not restrict
employee communications with other employees. Moreover, this is not
and the public. For instance, in Pathmark Stores, the
Board held that a grocery store could, because of its “le-
gitimate interest in protecting its customer relationship,”
lawfully prohibit its employees from wearing clothing dis-
playing the disparaging message “Don't Cheat About the
Meat!” in protest of the store's use of prepackaged meat
products. 342 NLRB 378, 379 (2004). Similarly, in No-
ah's New York Bagels, the Board upheld a ban on T-shirts
containing the disparaging slogan, “If its [sic] not Union,
its [sic] not Kosher.” 324 NLRB 266, 275 (1997). The
Respondent’s nondisparagement rules are reasonably
drafted to warn employees that similar disparaging state-
ments about it or its customers to customers and the public
would not be tolerated and could result in disciplinary ac-
tion, including termination.15
In cases preceding Boeing, the Board found that certain
nondisparagement and disloyalty rules unlawfully inter-
fered with the exercise of NLRA rights. Because the
Board analyzed the rules in those cases under the now-
overruled “reasonably construe” standard, which did not
take into consideration the legitimate justifications associ-
ated with the rules, those cases have been superseded.
See, e.g., Chipotle Services, LLC d/b/a Chipotle Mexican
Grill, 364 NLRB No. 72, slip op. at 1 fn. 3, 9 (2016), rev.
denied 690 Fed. Appx. 277 (5th Cir. 2017); Lily Transpor-
tation Corp., 362 NLRB 406, 406, 413 (2015); Quicken
Loans, Inc., 361 NLRB 904, 904 fn. 1 (2014), enfd. 830
F.3d 542 (D.C. Cir. 2016); First Transit, Inc., 360 NLRB
619, 619 fn. 5 (2014); Hills & Dales General Hospital,
360 NLRB 611, 611–612 (2014); Guardsmark, LLC, 344
NLRB 809, 809 (2005), enfd. in relevant part 475 F.3d
369 (D.C. Cir. 2007). Additionally, although courts of ap-
peal have enforced or denied review of the Board’s deci-
sions in some of those cases, they did so because the Board
had reasonably applied its pre-Boeing standard, under
which the Board did not meaningfully consider the em-
ployer’s legitimate justifications for its rules. See
Chipotle Services, LLC v. NLRB, 690 Fed.Appx. 277, 278
(5th Cir. 2017) (per curiam) (stating that court review “is
simply to decide if employees could reasonably construe”
the rules at issue to chill protected speech); Quicken
Loans, Inc. v. NLRB, 830 F.3d 542, 545 (D.C. Cir. 2016)
(stating that a rule is invalid if employees would reasona-
bly construe the language to prohibit Sec. 7 activity);
Guardsmark, LLC v. NLRB, 475 F.3d 369, 374 (D.C. Cir.
2007) (same). But see Southern New England Telephone
Co. v. NLRB, 793 F.3d 93, 97 (D.C. Cir. 2015) (denying
enforcement of Board order and holding that employer
lawfully prohibited employees from wearing
a case of the Respondent applying one of its nondisparagement rules to
employee Sec. 7 activity.
MOTOR CITY PAWN BROKERS INC. 7
“Inmate/Prisoner” shirts that “may harm the employer’s
relationship with its customers or its public image”);
Medco Health Solutions of Las Vegas, Inc. v. NLRB, 701
F.3d 710, 717 (D.C. Cir. 2012) (setting aside Board order
in relevant part and remanding issue as to whether em-
ployer lawfully prohibited employees from wearing shirts
criticizing an employee recognition program in front of an
employer client because of “harm to customer relations”).
We acknowledge that the Respondent’s nondisparage-
ment rules, similar to the nondisparagement rules the
Board had found unlawful under its pre-Boeing precedent,
would be reasonably interpreted to prohibit or interfere
with the exercise of NLRA rights. However, under Boe-
ing, that alone is insufficient to find the rules unlawful.
We must also balance that adverse impact on Section 7
activity with the legitimate justifications associated with
the rules. As described above, the legitimate justifications
for the Respondent’s nondisparagement rules are substan-
tial.16 Accordingly, we find the Respondent’s nondispar-
agement rules lawful because the potential adverse impact
on protected rights is outweighed by the justifications as-
sociated with the rules.17
D. Rules Limiting Employee Use of Email, Internet, and
Social Media
1. Restrictions on employee use of the Respondent’s
equipment to send personal email during
nonworking time
Applying the standard established in Purple Communi-
cations, Inc., 361 NLRB 1050 (2014), the judge found that
the prohibition on sending personal emails during non-
working time using the Respondent’s equipment, as set
forth in the Respondent’s Internet Etiquette Rule, was an
unlawful ban on employee use of the Respondent’s email
system.
Recently, the Board overruled Purple Communications
and announced a new standard that applies retroactively to
all pending cases. Caesars Entertainment d/b/a Rio All-
Suites Hotel & Casino, 368 NLRB No. 143, slip op. at 8–
9 (2019). In that decision, the Board held, in relevant part,
that “an employer does not violate the Act by restricting
the nonbusiness use of its IT resources absent proof that
employees would otherwise be deprived of any reasonable
means of communicating with each other.” Id., slip op. at
8 (emphasis added). The parties have not had an oppor-
tunity to address whether this exception to the rule of
16 The judge stated that the Respondent has not asserted any specific
justifications for the rules. But the legitimate justifications associated
with the Respondent’s nondisparagement rules are self-evident. As the
Board recognized in Boeing, “the justifications associated with particular
rules may be apparent from the rule itself or the Board’s experience with
particular types of workplace issues.” 365 NLRB No. 154, slip op. at 15.
Caesars Entertainment applies to the facts of this case.
Accordingly, having duly considered the matter, we sever
and retain this complaint allegation, and we issue below a
notice to show cause why the allegation should not be re-
manded to the administrative law judge for further pro-
ceedings consistent with the Board’s decision in Caesars
Entertainment.
2. Restrictions on employee use of the Internet and
social media
The judge also found that the Internet Etiquette rule's
ban on using the Respondent’s equipment for “chatting,”
“utilizing Facebook and other social networking sites,”
and “blogging” would unlawfully interfere with employee
communications protected by the Act.
The Board has not established that employees have a
protected right to use an employer’s electronic resources
for Internet activity such as chatting, accessing social me-
dia, or blogging. Purple Communications, supra at 1050,
1063 (declining to find that employees had a Section 7
right to use an employer’s non-email electronic communi-
cations systems). Accordingly, we reverse the judge’s
finding that the Respondent unlawfully prohibited em-
ployees from using its computers for such activity.
The judge further found that the rule in the handbooks
stating that various subjects identified as confidential are
“unacceptable” topics for social media was unlawfully
overly broad. In reversing, we note that, unlike the Inter-
net Etiquette rule, the Respondent’s restrictions on the dis-
closure of confidential information on social media are not
expressly limited to the Respondent’s equipment. Never-
theless, employees would reasonably understand, based
on the information expressly listed as confidential in the
rule (including information about “product development
. . . financial records, internal business-related confiden-
tial communications and memoranda, client and merchant
lists . . . [and] account records, pricing records, business
forms, and strategic planning information”), both that the
rule is limited to obviously proprietary information and
that it would not prohibit disclosure of information about
employees’ terms and conditions of employment or about
contact or other applicable information for union and other
protected activities. See National Indemnity Co, supra,
slip op. at 2.
Accordingly, we reverse the judge and dismiss the alle-
gations that the above Internet and social media rules are
unlawful.18
17 Under Boeing, we place the Respondent’s nondisparagement rules
in Category 1(b). See, e.g., LA Specialty, supra, slip op. at 3.
18 Under Boeing, we place the Respondent's Internet and social media
rules in Category 1(a). See, e.g., LA Specialty, supra, slip op. at 2.
DECISIONS OF THE NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD8
AMENDED CONCLUSIONS OF LAW
1. The Respondent is an employer engaged in com-
merce within the meaning of Section 2(2), (6), and (7) of
the Act.
2. The Respondent has violated Section 8(a)(1) of the
Act by maintaining the following rules and provisions in
its Employment Agreement, Contract and Receipt, Em-
ployee Handbook, and Updated Handbook:
(a) Work rules that interfere with employees’ rights to
file charges with the Board, to participate in Board pro-
cesses, or to access the Board’s processes, as described in
the mandatory arbitration provisions of the Employment
Agreement, paragraphs 7, 10, and 12, and the Contract and
Receipt.
(b) The Indemnity provisions of the Employment
Agreement, paragraphs 6, 7, and 8, and the Contract and
Receipt.
(c) The “Foreword” of the Employee Handbook and
Updated Handbook defining the handbooks as confiden-
tial and prohibiting their disclosure.
(d) Work rules that interfere with employees’ rights to
communicate with, associate with, or solicit other employ-
ees, as described in the Employment Agreement at para-
graphs (3)(f), (g), and (i).
3. The Respondent has violated Section 8(a)(1) by dis-
charging employees Terrence Walker, Patricia Tilmon,
Gianluca Bartolucci, and Ringo Salzar because they failed
and refused to sign employment documents containing un-
lawful rules.
4. The above unfair labor practices affect commerce
within the meaning of Section 2(6) and (7) of the Act.
AMENDED REMEDY
Having found that the Respondent has engaged in cer-
tain unfair labor practices, we shall order it to cease and
desist and to take certain affirmative action designed to
effectuate the policies of the Act.
Specifically, we shall order the Respondent to revise or
rescind the work rules found unlawful and advise its em-
ployees in writing that it has done so in accordance
with Guardsmark, LLC, 344 NLRB at 812 fn. 8, as set
forth in the attached Order.
Further, having found that the Respondent violated Sec-
tion 8(a)(1) by discharging employees Terrence Walker,
Patricia Tilmon, Gianluca Bartolucci, and Ringo Salzar,
we shall order the Respondent to offer them full reinstate-
ment to their former jobs or, if those jobs no longer exist,
to substantially equivalent positions, without prejudice to
their seniority or any other rights or privileges previously
enjoyed. We also shall order that the Respondent make
Terrence Walker, Patricia Tilmon, Gianluca Bartolucci,
and Ringo Salzar whole, with interest, for any loss of
earnings and other benefits that they may have suffered as
a result of the unlawful discharges. Backpay shall be com-
puted in accordance with F. W. Woolworth Co., 90 NLRB
289 (1950), with interest at the rate prescribed in New Ho-
rizons, 283 NLRB 1173 (1987), compounded daily as pre-
scribed in Kentucky River Medical Center, 356 NLRB 6
(2010). In accordance with our decision in King Soopers,
Inc., 364 NLRB No. 93 (2016), enfd. in pertinent part 859
F.3d 23 (D.C. Cir. 2017), we shall also order the Respond-
ent to compensate Terrence Walker, Patricia Tilmon,
Gianluca Bartolucci, and Ringo Salzar for their search-
for-work and interim employment expenses regardless of
whether those expenses exceed interim earnings. Search-
for-work and interim employment expenses shall be cal-
culated separately from taxable net backpay, with interest
at the rate prescribed in New Horizons, supra, com-
pounded daily as prescribed in Kentucky River Medical
Center, supra.
Additionally, we shall order the Respondent to compen-
sate Terrence Walker, Patricia Tilmon, Gianluca Barto-
lucci, and Ringo Salzar for the adverse tax consequences,
if any, of receiving lump-sum backpay awards, and file
with the Regional Director for Region 7, within 21 days
of the date the amount of backpay is fixed, either by agree-
ment or Board order, a report allocating the backpay
awards to the appropriate calendar year(s). AdvoServ of
New Jersey, Inc., 363 NLRB No. 143 (2016).
The Respondent shall also be required to expunge from
its files any and all references to the discharges, and to
notify Terrence Walker, Patricia Tilmon, Gianluca Barto-
lucci, and Ringo Salzar in writing that this has been done
and that the discharges will not be used against them in
any way.
ORDER
The National Labor Relations Board orders that the Re-
spondent, Motor City Pawn Brokers Inc., The Aubrey
Group Inc., and Aubrey Brothers, LLC, a single employer,
Detroit, Michigan, its officers, agents, successors, and as-
signs, shall
1. Cease and desist from
(a) Maintaining mandatory arbitration provisions that
prohibit employees from filing charges with the National
Labor Relations Board or accessing the Board and its pro-
cesses.
(b) Maintaining indemnity provisions that impose fi-
nancial or legal risks on employees engaging in protected
activities.
(c) Maintaining confidentiality and nondisclosure pro-
visions that define the Employee Handbook and Updated
Handbook as confidential and prohibit their disclosure.
MOTOR CITY PAWN BROKERS INC. 9
(d) Maintaining overly broad work rules that restrict
employee communications with, association with, or so-
licitation of other employees.
(e) Discharging employees because they fail or refuse
to sign employment documents that contain unlawful
work rules and provisions.
(f) In any like or related manner interfering with, re-
straining, or coercing employees in the exercise of the
rights guaranteed them by Section 7 of the Act.
2. Take the following affirmative action necessary to
effectuate the policies of the Act.
(a) Rescind the work rules and provisions set forth in
paragraph 1(a) through (e) above or revise them to remove
any language that prohibits or reasonably may be read to
prohibit conduct protected by Section 7 of the Act.
(b) Furnish employees with inserts for the Employment
Agreement, Contract and Receipt, Employee Handbook,
and Updated Handbook that (1) advise that the unlawful
provisions have been rescinded, or (2) provide lawfully
worded provisions on adhesive backing that will cover the
unlawful provisions; or publish and distribute to employ-
ees revised Employment Agreements, Contract and Re-
ceipt documents, and Employee Handbooks that (1) do not
contain the unlawful provisions, or (2) provide lawfully
worded provisions.
(c) Within 14 days from the date of this Order, offer
Terrence Walker, Patricia Tilmon, Gianluca Bartolucci,
and Ringo Salzar full reinstatement to their former jobs or,
if those jobs no longer exist, to substantially equivalent
positions, without prejudice to their seniority or any other
rights or privileges previously enjoyed.
(d) Make Terrence Walker, Patricia Tilmon, Gianluca
Bartolucci, and Ringo Salzar whole for any loss of earn-
ings and other benefits suffered as a result of the unlawful
discharges, in the manner set forth in the amended remedy
section of this decision.
(e) Compensate Terrence Walker, Patricia Tilmon,
Gianluca Bartolucci, and Ringo Salzar for the adverse tax
consequences, if any, of receiving lump-sum backpay
awards, and file with the Regional Director for Region 7,
within 21 days of the date the amount of backpay is fixed,
either by agreement or Board order, a report allocating the
backpay awards to the appropriate calendar years for each
employee.
19 If the facilities involved in these proceedings are open and staffed
by a substantial complement of employees, the notices must be posted
within 14 days after service by the Region. If the facilities involved in
these proceedings are closed due to the Coronavirus Disease 2019
(COVID-19) pandemic, the notices must be posted within 14 days after
the facility reopens and a substantial complement of employees have re-
turned to work, and the notices may not be posted until a substantial com-
plement of employees have returned to work. Any delay in the physical
(f) Within 14 days from the date of this Order, remove
from its files any reference to the unlawful discharges, and
within 3 days thereafter, notify Terrence Walker, Patricia
Tilmon, Gianluca Bartolucci, and Ringo Salzar in writing
that this has been done and that their discharges will not
be used against them in any way.
(g) Preserve and, within 14 days of a request, or such
additional time as the Regional Director may allow for
good cause shown, provide at a reasonable place desig-
nated by the Board or its agents, all payroll records, social
security payment records, timecards, personnel records
and reports, and all other records, including an electronic
copy of such records if stored in electronic form, neces-
sary to analyze the amount of backpay due under the terms
of this Order.
(h) Post at its Detroit, Warren, Ferndale, and Roseville,
Michigan facilities copies of the attached notice marked
“Appendix.”19 Copies of the notice, on forms provided by
the Regional Director for Region 7, after being signed by
the Respondent’s authorized representative, shall be
posted by the Respondent and maintained for 60 consecu-
tive days in conspicuous places including all places where
notices to employees are customarily posted. In addition
to physical posting of paper notices, the notices shall be
distributed electronically, such as by email, posting on an
intranet or an internet site, and/or other electronic means,
if the Respondent customarily communicates with its em-
ployees by such means. Reasonable steps shall be taken
by the Respondent to ensure that the notices are not al-
tered, defaced, or covered by any other material. If the
Respondent has gone out of business or closed the facili-
ties involved in these proceedings, the Respondent shall
duplicate and mail, at its own expense, a copy of the notice
to all current employees and former employees employed
by the Respondent at any time since February 1, 2016.
(i) Within 21 days after service by the Region, file with
the Regional Director for Region 7 a sworn certification
of a responsible official on a form provided by the Region
attesting to the steps that the Respondent has taken to com-
ply.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the portion of complaint
paragraphs 10 and 13 relating to the Respondent’s prohi-
bition on sending personal emails during nonworking time
using the Respondent’s equipment, as set forth in the
posting of paper notices also applies to the electronic distribution of the
notice if the Respondent customarily communicates with its employees
by electronic means. If this Order is enforced by a judgment of a United
States court of appeals, the words in the notice reading “Posted by Order
of the National Labor Relations Board” shall read “Posted Pursuant to a
Judgment of the United States Court of Appeals Enforcing an Order of
the National Labor Relations Board.”
DECISIONS OF THE NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD10
Respondent's Internet Etiquette Rule, is severed and re-
tained for further consideration.
Further,
NOTICE IS GIVEN that cause be shown, in writing, filed
with the Board in Washington, D.C., on or before August
7, 2020 (with affidavit of service on the parties to this pro-
ceeding), why the Respondent’s rule prohibiting employ-
ees from sending personal email on the Respondent’s
equipment should not be remanded to the administrative
law judge for further proceedings consistent with the
Board’s decision in Caesars Entertainment, including re-
opening the record if necessary. Any briefs or statements
in support of the response shall be filed on the same date.
Dated, Washington, D.C. July 24, 2020
John F. Ring, Chairman
_
Marvin E. Kaplan, Member
William J. Emanuel, Member
(SEAL) NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
APPENDIX
NOTICE TO EMPLOYEES
POSTED BY ORDER OF THE
NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
An Agency of the United States Government
The National Labor Relations Board has found that we vio-
lated Federal labor law and has ordered us to post and obey
this notice.
FEDERAL LAW GIVES YOU THE RIGHT TO
Form, join, or assist a union
Choose representatives to bargain with us on your
behalf
Act together with other employees for your bene-
fit and protection
Choose not to engage in any of these protected ac-
tivities.
WE WILL NOT maintain mandatory arbitration provi-
sions that prohibit you from filing charges with the Na-
tional Labor Relations Board or accessing the Board and
its processes.
WE WILL NOT maintain indemnity provisions that im-
pose financial or legal risks on you for engaging in pro-
tected activities.
WE WILL NOT maintain confidentiality and nondisclo-
sure provisions that define the Employee Handbook and
Updated Handbook as confidential and prohibit you from
disclosing them.
WE WILL NOT maintain overly broad work rules that re-
strict your communications with, association with, or so-
licitation of other employees.
WE WILL NOT discharge you for failing or refusing to
sign employment documents that contain unlawful work
rules and provisions.
WE WILL NOT in any like or related manner interfere
with, restrain, or coerce you in the exercise of the rights
listed above.
WE WILL rescind or revise the work rules and provisions
described above.
WE WILL furnish you with inserts for the Employment
Agreement, Contract and Receipt, Employee Handbook,
and Updated Handbook that (1) advise that the unlawful
provisions have been rescinded, or (2) provide lawfully
worded provisions on adhesive backing that will cover the
unlawful provisions; or WE WILL publish and distribute re-
vised employment agreements and handbooks that (1) do
not contain the unlawful provisions, or (2) provide law-
fully worded provisions.
WE WILL, within 14 days from the date of the Board's
Order, offer Terrence Walker, Patricia Tilmon, Gianluca
Bartolucci, and Ringo Salzar full reinstatement to their
former jobs or, if those jobs no longer exist, to substan-
tially equivalent positions, without prejudice to their sen-
iority or any other rights or privileges previously enjoyed.
WE WILL make Terrence Walker, Patricia Tilmon,
Gianluca Bartolucci, and Ringo Salzar whole for any loss
of earnings and other benefits resulting from their dis-
charge, less any net interim earnings, plus interest, and WE
WILL also make such employees whole for reasonable
search-for-work and interim employment expenses, plus
interest.
WE WILL compensate Terrence Walker, Patricia
Tilmon, Gianluca Bartolucci, and Ringo Salzar for the ad-
verse tax consequences, if any, of receiving lump-sum
backpay awards, and WE WILL file with the Regional Di-
rector for Region 7, within 21 days of the date the amount
of backpay is fixed, either by agreement or Board order, a
report allocating the backpay awards to the appropriate
calendar years for each employee.
WE WILL, within 14 days from the date of the Board's
Order, remove from our files any reference to the unlawful
discharges of Terrence Walker, Patricia Tilmon, Gianluca
Bartolucci, and Ringo Salzar, and WE WILL , within 3 days
MOTOR CITY PAWN BROKERS INC. 11
thereafter, notify them in writing that this has been done
and that the discharges will not be used against them in
any way.
MOTOR CITY PAWN BROKERS INC., THE
AUBREY GROUP INC., AND AUBREY BROTHERS
LLC, A SINGLE-EMPLOYER
The Board’s decision can be found at www.nlrb.gov/case/07-
CA-179458 or by using the QR code below. Alternatively,
you can obtain a copy of the decision from the Executive Sec-
retary, National Labor Relations Board, 1015 Half Street,
S.E., Washington, D.C. 20570, or by calling (202) 273-1940.
Patricia A. Fedewa, Esq., for the General Counsel.
Jonathan B. Frank, Esq., James M. Reid, IV, Esq. and Kaitlin A
Brown, Esq. (Maddin Hauser Roth & Heller, PC), for the
Respondent.
Daniel C. Tai, Esq. and Angela L. Walker, Esq. (Blanchard &
Walker PLLC), for Charging Parties.
DECISION
STATEMENT OF THE CASE
ELIZABETH M. TAFE, Administrative Law Judge. This case
was tried in Detroit, Michigan, on July 27, 2017, and concluded
by teleconference on August 14, 2017, pursuant to a complaint
issued by the Regional Director of Region 7 on December 15,
2016, as amended at the hearing, and further amended upon the
1 The legal landscape has shifted somewhat a number of times during
the pendency of this case. As explained in detail in this decision, I apply
the Board’s present precedents.
On December 14, 2017, the Board issued its decision in Boeing Co.,
365 NLRB No. 154 (2017), which made retroactive the application of a
new legal standard to pending cases that challenge the lawfulness of fa-
cially neutral workplace rules. The parties were granted the opportunity
to identify any need to supplement the record and to file supplemental
briefs. Both the Respondent and the General Counsel opined that the rec-
ord was complete without reopening the record, and both filed supple-
mental legal briefs addressing the new legal standard. The Charging Par-
ties did not file briefs. During supplemental briefing, I granted the Gen-
eral Counsel’s unopposed motion to withdraw complaint allegations as
set forth in his January 2, 2018 motion. The rules that remain in dispute
are identified in pars. 8, 9, 10, and 11, of the complaint, as amended, and
are described in detail below.
On May 21, 2018, in Epic Systems Corp. v. Lewis, et al., 584 U.S. __,
138 S.Ct. 1612 (2018), the U.S. Supreme Court rejected the Board’s po-
sition in Murphy Oil USA, Inc., 361 NLRB 774 (2014), regarding the
lawfulness of an employer’s requirements in arbitration agreements that
General Counsel’s posthearing motion (the complaint). The
complaint alleges that Motor City Pawn Brokers, Inc., The Au-
brey Group, Inc., and Aubrey Brothers, LLC, A Single Employer
(Motor City Pawn Brokers or the Respondent), violated Section
8(a)(1) of the Act by maintaining certain work rules contained in
its employment agreements and personnel handbooks. The com-
plaint further alleges that the Respondent unlawfully discharged
four employees, including the two charging parties, because they
failed or refused to sign the employment documents containing
the allegedly unlawful rules. The Respondent timely answered
the complaint, admitting maintenance of the contested rules, but
denying all wrongdoing. Among its defenses, the Respondent as-
serts that the four employees were discharged because their re-
fusal to sign the employment agreements was insubordination
and that their actions did not amount to protected, concerted ac-
tivity. The parties were given a full opportunity to participate in
the hearing, to introduce relevant evidence, to call, examine, and
cross-examine witnesses, and to file briefs and supplemental
briefs.1 On the entire record, including my observations of the
demeanor of the witnesses, and after carefully considering the
briefs and supplemental briefs filed by the General Counsel and
the Respondent, I make the following findings, conclusions, and
recommendations.
FINDINGS OF FACT
I. JURISDICTION
The Respondent’s companies, Motor City Pawn Brokers, Inc.,
The Aubrey Group, Inc., and Aubrey Brothers, LLC, are corpo-
rate entities operating pawn brokerage businesses in Detroit and
Warren, Michigan, Ferndale, Michigan, and Roseville, Michi-
gan, respectively. The Respondent companies’ businesses in-
volve the assessment, appraisal, and receipt of personal property
as collateral for personal loans, the sale of property related to
satisfaction of loans, and the maintenance of several storefront
operations. The Respondent companies admit and I find that they
are a single-integrated business enterprise and a single employer
under the Act as alleged in the complaint (complaint par. 3–4;
GC Exh. 1(t) (Respondent’s Answer); Tr. 11–12).2 In conducting
employees forego as a condition of employment their right to file class
or collective actions in all forums, arbitral or judicial. Therefore, as dis-
cussed below, the complaint allegation related to the Respondent’s re-
quirement that all disputes by employees against the Respondent be con-
ducted solely on an individual basis, as set forth in the Class Action
Waiver provision in the Respondent’s mandatory Employment Agree-
ment (GC Exh. 2 at 5), is dismissed. Epic Systems Corp., Id.
On August 1, 2018, the Board issued a notice inviting briefs in Rio
All-Suites Hotel and Casino, 28–CA–060841, unpublished. Board order
issued Aug. 1, 2018 (2018 WL 3703476), indicating its interest in recon-
sider the holding in Purple Communications, Inc., 361 NLRB 1050, 1063
(2014). As discussed below, I apply the current standard.
2 The Board considers several nominally separate business entities to
be a single employer where they comprise an integrated enterprise. Radio
Union v. Broadcast Service of Mobile, 380 U.S. 255 (1965). The Board
focuses on four factors in determining whether entities constitute a single
employer: (1) common ownership or financial control; (2) interrelation
of operations; (3) common control of labor relations; and (4) common
management. Bolivar-Tees, Inc., 349 NRB 720 (2007); see also Rogan
Bros. Sanitation, 362 NLRB 547 (2015), and cases cited therein. All four
DECISIONS OF THE NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD12
its operations in 2015, the Respondent as a single integrated en-
tity derived gross revenues in excess of $500,000. In 2015, Re-
spondent sold and shipped from its Detroit, Warren, Ferndale,
and Roseville facilities, products, goods, and materials valued in
excess of $5000 directly to points outside the State of Michigan.
Respondent admits that it is an employer engaged in commerce
within the meaning of Section 2(2), (6), and (7) of the Act. The
Respondent further admits that each of Respondent’s companies
separately is an employer engaged in commerce within the
meaning of Section 2(2), (6), and (7) of the Act.
Based on the above, I find that this dispute affects commerce
and that the Board has jurisdiction of this case, pursuant to Sec-
tion 10(a) of the Act.
II. ALLEGED UNFAIR LABOR PRACTICES
Factual Background
The Respondent operates a pawn brokerage business in the
Detroit metropolitan area at four locations. In its four locations,
the Respondent employs approximately 100 employees.
The Respondent maintains work rules set forth in various em-
ployment documents. In about February 2016, the Respondent
introduced a new set of employment documents and required
employees to affirm their agreement to the work rules by signing
them in order to retain their jobs The General Counsel alleges
that multiple provisions of the following four employment doc-
uments violate Section 8(a)(1) of the Act:
(1) Employment Agreement, a 6-page document (GC Exh. 2;
Complaint par. 8);
(2) Contract between the Company and Employee and Em-
ployee Handbook Receipt, a 2-page document (GC Exh. 3;
Complaint par. 9) (the Contract and Receipt);
(3) Employee Handbook, a 45-page document (GC Exh. 4;
Complaint par. 10) (the Handbook); and
(4) Employee Handbook, a 46-page document (GC Exh. 15;
Complaint par. 11) (the Updated Handbook).
The Respondent is a family-owned business established in
1990 that has enjoyed significant expansion from its original,
single pawn shop location to at least four current locations with
about 100 employees. Since at least 2011, Mark Aubrey has
shared ownership of the business with his father and participates
in managing the stores. Aubrey began working in this father’s
pawn shop when he was 17 years old. Although each location
has a different store manager and one or two assistant managers,
there is one district manager, Chris Farraj, who works closely
factors need not be present. Bolivar-Tees, above; Rogan Brothers, above.
Here, the Respondent has admitted that the Respondent companies are a
single employer but has not admitted to all the underlying facts as alleged
in the complaint to support this finding. I find there is sufficient evidence
in the record to support this admission. This evidence includes: Mark
Aubrey owns, or jointly owns with his father, all three entities, which
evolved over time from one store originally owned by Aubrey’s father;
Aubrey works at, physically visits at least weekly, and generally oversees
operations at each site, occasionally involving himself in day-to-day op-
erations, although Aubrey tries to delegate operations to the managers;
the entities share one district manager, Chris Farraj, who oversees the
performance of managers and employees at each location; the entities
have similar supervisory structures at each store, so that pawn brokers
with Aubrey to insure policies are enforced lawfully and consist-
ently at each store. Among other employees, pawn brokers work
at each store, and report to the store managers. Pawn brokers
provide customer service, authenticate and appraise collateral
property provided by customers, and establish loans against the
collateral.
Before February 2016, the Respondent maintained a person-
nel handbook and asked employees to sign a non-competition
agreement. Aubrey explained that several years before 2016, one
of the Respondent’s pawn brokers quit and, shortly thereafter,
began working in a competitor pawn shop nearby. Aubrey be-
lieves that the former employee shared proprietary and confiden-
tial information about the Respondent’s operations with the com-
petitor, although the record does not establish what information
may have been divulged. In any case, in early 2016, Aubrey
sought legal advice and decided to update his employment doc-
uments, apparently in large part to attempt to prevent a similar
situation where a pawn broker might leave his employ and share
what he considered proprietary business information or practices
with competitors. After legal counsel reviewed and revised Re-
spondent’s employee handbook and employment agreement,
Aubrey decided to require all employees to sign new employ-
ment agreements in order to protect its investment in training
employees and protect itself from disclosure of information
about its business operations and strategies.
In February 2016, the Respondent distributed new employ-
ment documents to employees, which included (1) the Employ-
ment Agreement, (2) the Contract and Receipt, and (3) the Em-
ployee Handbook. Aubrey expected all of his employees to sign
the new employee documents. Pawn brokers Gianluca Barto-
lucci, Ringo Salzar, Patricia Tilmon, and Terrence Walker did
not sign the employment documents. The Respondent inter-
preted their failure and refusal to sign the employment docu-
ments as refusing to agree to abide by the Respondent’s updated,
mandatory work rules and unilaterally established contractual
obligations, which the Respondent concluded was insubordina-
tion. All four employees were terminated. Although the record
indicates that each of the employees failed to sign the employ-
ment documents separately and in somewhat different circum-
stances, the Respondent admits that the reason each of their em-
ployments was terminated was their failure to sign the docu-
ments, which the Respondent required them to do as a condition
of continued employment. (R. Br. at 7–8; GC Exh. 8, 9.)
The General Counsel alleges that the contested work rules in
the employment documents, maintained by the Respondent and
report to their store managers and assistant store managers, but occasion-
ally deal directly with Farraj and Aubrey; Aubrey describes that all the
stores are expected to adhere to the same ethical philosophy and business
model, which he considers proprietary; the employment documents at
issue in this case are effective at all three entities and all four locations,
and, to some extent, the development of the employment documents re-
flected management’s desire to effectuate uniform employment condi-
tions in all three entities, in anticipation of further growth; the Respond-
ent companies have responded to and proceeded in this case by filing
answers together and are represented by the same legal counsel; and,
other than the entities’ corporate names and the fact that there are sepa-
rate store locations, there is an absence of evidence on this record that
the entities function independently.
MOTOR CITY PAWN BROKERS INC. 13
in effect since about February 2016, as well as the further up-
dated 2017 handbook, are “facially unlawful” because they con-
sist of overly broad rules that reasonably tend to chill employees
in the exercise of their Section 7 rights, in that the impacts of the
rules on NLRA rights are not outweighed by the Respondent’s
legitimate justifications for the rules, as articulated. See Boeing,
below. Further, the General Counsel argues that, because the em-
ployment documents contain unlawful rules, the Respondent’s
termination of the four employees for failing and refusing to sign
the employment documents was unlawful.
The Respondent argues, however, that the rules are not shown
to be unlawful because (1) it is not reasonable to conclude that
they interfere with Section 7 rights; (2) the Respondent’s justifi-
cations outweigh any potential effect on Section 7 rights; or (3)
the rules have not been applied to interfere with Section 7 rights.
The Respondent argues that, even if some rules are found unlaw-
ful, there can be no liability for the four terminations because (1)
employees did not explain contemporaneously why they refused
to sign the employment documents; (2) to the extent they ex-
plained their reasons for not signing the documents, these rea-
sons were unrelated to the rules found unlawful; (3) three em-
ployees resigned rather than sign the documents; and/or (4) the
employees did not engage in protected concerted activity.
Analysis
A. Legal Framework of Allegations of Unlawfully
Maintained Rules
An employer violates Section 8(a)(1) of the Act when it main-
tains workplace rules or policies that would reasonably tend to
chill employees in the exercise of their Section 7 rights. See
Lafayette Park Hotel, 326 NLRB 824, 825 (1998), enfd. 203
F.3d 52 (D.C. Cir. 1999). This applies to workplace rules found
in employee personnel handbooks and employment agreements
like those contested in this case. Specifically, the Board consid-
ers restrictions found in mandatory employment agreements, in-
cluding arbitration agreements, to be workplace rules and evalu-
ates them under their workplace rule doctrines. The Board has
long held that the mere maintenance of unlawful rules may vio-
late the Act without regard for whether the employer ever ap-
plied the rule for unlawful purposes. Rio All-Suites Hotel & Ca-
sino, 362 NLRB 1690, 1698 (2015), disfavored in part on other
grounds, Boeing, below, slip op. at 19–20, fn. 89. The analytical
framework for assessing whether the maintenance of workplace
rules violates the Act is set forth in Lutheran Heritage Village-
Livonia, 343 NLRB 646 (2004), as reformed and overruled in
pertinent part by the Board in Boeing Co., 365 NLRB No. 154
(2017).3 Under Boeing, the Board confirmed the general frame-
work of Lutheran Heritage and left unchanged certain elements
of the legal standards set forth, but expressly overruled the es-
tablished test for determining when a work rule that does not ex-
plicitly restrict rights protected by the Act (facially neutral rule)
will be found to violate Section 8(a)(1). Thus, when evaluating
whether a workplace rule is unlawful, the Board’s inquiry still
begins with determining whether “the rule explicitly restricts
3 Boeing regularly refers to having overruled Lutheran Heritage;
however, at fn. 4, the Board defines “Lutheran Heritage” to mean prong
1 of the Lutheran Heritage test, i.e., the “reasonably construe” standard
activities protected by Section 7,” in which case the Board will
find the rule unlawful. Lutheran Heritage at 646 (emphasis in
the original); see Boeing, slip op. at 3–4. Similarly, the Board
still finds to be unlawful facially neutral rules that were “prom-
ulgated in response to union activity” or “applied to restrict the
exercise of Section 7 rights” Lutheran Heritage at 647; Boeing,
slip op. at 7.
In Boeing, the Board reevaluated its approach to determining
when an employer’s mere maintenance of facially neutral rules
will be found to violate the Act. The Board overruled its prior
application of the related holding in Lutheran Heritage where
facially neutral rules were found unlawful when employees
“would reasonably construe” the rules to interfere with, coerce
or restrain them in the exercise of Section 7 rights. In its place,
the Board established a “balancing test,” whereby, when evalu-
ating the lawfulness of facially neutral workplace rules the Board
will consider the employer’s justification for the contested rule
and weigh that justification against the potential impact of the
rule, as reasonably interpreted, on employees’ Section 7 rights.
Boeing, slip op at 3, 15. Thus, when evaluating a facially neutral
rule that, when reasonably interpreted, would potentially inter-
fere with NLRA rights, the Board evaluates two things: (1) the
nature and extent of the potential impact of the rule on Section 7
rights, and (2) legitimate justifications associated with the rule.
Id. Focusing on a reasonable interpretation of the rule from the
perspective of employees, the Board endeavors to strike the
proper balance between the invasion of employee rights pro-
tected by the Act and the asserted business justifications for the
rules. Id., slip op. at 15.
The Board also described that, as a result of applying this anal-
ysis, the Board would “delineate” three categories of workplace
rules through the adjudicative process. Category 1 will include
rules designated as lawful to maintain either because (i) when
reasonably interpreted, the rule does not prohibit or interfere
with NLRA rights, or (ii) the potential adverse impact on pro-
tected rights is outweighed by justifications associated with the
rule. Category 2 will include rules that warrant individualized
scrutiny regarding whether the rule interferes with NLRA rights
and if so, whether the justifications offered outweigh the rule’s
impact on protected conduct. Category 3 will include rules that
the Board designates as unlawful because they would prohibit or
limit protected conduct and the adverse impact on protected
rights is not outweighed by justifications for the rule. Boeing,
above, slip op. at 3–4, 15. This categorization system is meant
to project clarity in rulings and predictable results, while still
considering real-world complexities and recognizing unique
characteristics of different work settings and industries. Id, slip
op. at 10–11, 15–16.
In explaining its reasons for developing the Boeing balancing
test for considering the lawfulness of facially neutral rules, the
majority in Boeing expressed criticism for the Board’s prior eval-
uation of “overly broad” and “ambiguous” rules. Id, slip op. at
2, 9–10, fn. 43, 13, fn. 68. These concepts still play a role in the
analysis, however, as overly broad rules may expressly interfere
applied to facially neutral rules. Moreover, the reasoning and substantive
discussion in the decision reveals that the rest of the Lutheran Heritage
framework remains intact.
DECISIONS OF THE NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD14
with Section 7 rights, and rules may be deemed facially neutral
because their terms are either overly broad or ambiguous.
Whether a workplace rule is overly broad or ambiguous may af-
fect the analysis of both aspects of the balancing test, i.e., the
evaluation of the nature and extent of the potential impact of the
rule on NLRA rights, as reasonably understood by employees,
and the employer’s legitimate justifications associated with the
rule. Therefore, ambiguity or over-breadth of terms informs, but
does not alone determine, the lawfulness of work rules. Id.
In Purple Communications, Inc., 361 NLRB 1050, 1063
(2014), the Board established a test to address the particularized
circumstance of restrictions imposed on the use of employers’
email systems for employee–to–employee communications. Un-
der the test, the Board presumes that employees who have the
rightful access to their employer’s email systems in the course of
their work have a right to use the email system for statutorily
protected communications during nonworking time. An em-
ployer may rebut the presumption by showing that special cir-
cumstances necessary to maintain production and discipline jus-
tify the restrictions on employees’ rights. Because limitations
should be no more restrictive than is necessary to protect em-
ployer’s interests, the Board emphasized in Purple Communica-
tions that it anticipated that special circumstances will rarely jus-
tify a total ban on all nonwork email use by employees. Id. The
Board’s reasoning in Purple Communications was based on a
consideration of Board and Supreme Court precedents address-
ing the accommodation of employer property interests and em-
ployees’ Section 7 rights, and in particular, Republic Aviation,
324 U.S. 793 (1945). The Board did not rely on the Lutheran
Heritage “reasonably construe” standard in Purple Communica-
tions, and, therefore, the Board’s determination that the balanc-
ing of the important interests raised by the limitation of employ-
ees’ use of employer’s email systems for employee–to–em-
ployee communication should be resolved with the legal pre-
sumption established in Purple Communications is not directly
affected by its establishment of the Boeing balancing test in con-
sidering the lawfulness of facially neutral rules.4
The Supreme Court considered and reversed the Board’s hold-
ing in Murphy Oil USA, Inc., 361 NLRB 774 (2014), enf. denied
in relevant part 808 F.3d 1013 (5th Cir. 2015), that found that
class action waiver provisions in arbitration agreements that are
required as a condition of employment violate Section 8(a)(1) of
the Act, when they preclude the collective pursuit of employ-
ment claims in all forums, arbitral or judicial. Epic Systems Corp.
v. Lewis, 584 U.S. ___, 138 S.Ct. 1612, 1619–1621, 1632 (2018),
The Supreme Court held in Epic Systems that class action waiver
provisions do not violate the Act and that the employment agree-
ments containing them must be enforced as written pursuant to
4 Boeing did not disturb this precedent. See UPMC, 366 NLRB No.
142, slip op. at 1 fn. 5 (2018) (“[T]he Board in Boeing did not disturb
longstanding precedent governing employer restrictions on solicitation
and distribution, which already strikes a balance between employee
rights and employer interests.”); and Rio All-Suites Hotel and Casino,
28–CA–060841, unpublished. Board order issued Aug. 1, 2018 (2018
WL 3703476) (inviting briefs to address whether the Board should ad-
here to, modify, or overrule Purple Communications).
5 Pars. 8 to 11 of the complaint contain the allegations related to the
contested rules, organized by document. Pars. 8 to 10 of the complaint
the Federal Arbitration Act. Id.
B. Do the Contested Rules Violate Section 8(a)(1)?
For the reasons discussed below, I find that the Respondent’s
maintenance of many of the contested workplace rules found in
the Respondent’s Employment Documents violate Section
8(a)(1).5 I further find that the Respondent’s maintenance of
other work rules do not violate Section 8(a)(1) based on the
standards and findings in Boeing, and these allegations will be
dismissed.
1. Requirement that employees arbitrate disputes against Re-
spondent and related limitations and definitions (Complaint
pars 8 and 9)
The Employment Agreement (GC Exh. 2) states the follow-
ing:
7. Arbitration. Except as permitted in Paragraph 6,6 any dispute
or controversy arising under, out of, in connection with, or in
relation to this Agreement, any amendment hereof, the breach
hereof, and/or any other claims that Employee may assert
against Employer, including, without limitation, any claim for
wages or fringe benefits, a claim of a breach of express or im-
plied contract, or a claim alleging a violation of the Michigan
Civil Rights Act, the Michigan Persons with Disabilities Civil
Rights Act, Americans With Disabilities Act, Title VII of the
Federal Civil Rights Act, Age Discrimination in Employment
Act, the Family Medical Leave Act, the National Labor Rela-
tions Act, Whistle Blowers Protection Act, the Fair Labor
Standards Act, Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act,
and/or Bullard-Plawecki Employee Right to Know Act shall be
determined and settled by arbitration in the City of Southfield,
in accordance with the Employment Arbitration Rules of the
American Arbitration Association through a single arbitrator.
[Emphasis added.] If the parties cannot agree to a single arbi-
trator, the parties shall each select an arbitrator that will work
together to select the single arbitrator. The costs for arbitration•
shall be split equally between the parties notwithstanding any-
thing to the contrary in the employment rules of the American
Arbitration Association. The arbitrator shall not have the
power to change, modify, or otherwise alter the "At Will" na-
ture of such employment relationship and the arbitrator's writ-
ten determination shall be based solely upon the "At Will" na-
ture of such employment relationship. Any award rendered
therein shall be final and binding on the parties, and judgment
may be entered thereon in any court having jurisdiction. . . .
[emphasis added]
10. Class Action Waiver. Any claim by Employee, including,
but not limited to, any breach of this Agreement, amounts due
do not provide numbers itemizing each allegation. I have organized the
allegations by issue below and I will refer to them by their section/sub-
section numbers as set forth in the employment documents, when neces-
sary for clarity. I have also included language from the employment doc-
uments not alleged as unlawful when I have determined it necessary or
helpful to understand the context of the disputed provisions.
6 As discussed in more detail below, par. 6 of the employment agree-
ment, inter alia, does not limit the Respondent’s remedial relief to arbi-
trations but permits the Respondent to seek relief from alleged breaches
of the agreement in court “without limitation.”
MOTOR CITY PAWN BROKERS INC. 15
Employee, or for any other cause shall be brought in the Em-
ployee's individual capacity, and not as a plaintiff or class
member in any purported class or representative proceeding.
. . .
12. Claim Limitation. Except for claims under the Fair Labor
Standards Act, any claim arising out of a dispute that in any
way relates to Employee's employment or this Agreement,
shall not be brought by Employee unless the same is com-
menced within One Hundred Eighty (180) days following the
incident giving rise to such dispute. If Employee fails to com-
mence such a proceeding within the One Hundred Eighty (180)
day period, any rights Employee may have to prosecute such a
claim shall be extinguished and terminated. . . .
15. Governing Law. This Agreement has been executed and
delivered in the State of Michigan, and its interpretation, valid-
ity, and performance shall be construed and enforced in accord-
ance with laws of such State, without regard to such State's con-
flict of law principles.
The Contract and Receipt (GC Exh. 3) states the following:
. . . the exclusive method for resolving the dispute arising out
of employment or in any way related to any alleged wrongful
acts on the part of Company, its affiliates, directors, sharehold-
ers, agents, or employees ("Company Parties") relating to em-
ployment, including but not limited to, any claim for wages or
fringe benefits, claims of breach of contract, wrongful dis-
charge, tort claims, invasion of privacy, slander, defamation,
and/or any statutory claim including but not limited to discrim-
ination under Title VII of the Federal Civil Rights Act, Age
Discrimination in Employment Act, Americans With Disabili-
ties Act or Family Medical Leave Act, the Michigan Elliot-Lar-
son Civil Rights Act, Persons With Disabilities Act, Whistle
Blowers Protection Act and Bullard-Plawecki Employee Right
to Know Act shall be through the procedures and policies of
the American Arbitration Association ("AAA") utilizing a sin-
gle arbitrator. . . I hereby waive my right to adjudicate any
claim against the Company Parties before any federal or state
court or agency. . . .
I agree that any arbitration (or any judicial or administrative
proceeding that is not allowed to be arbitrated by law) arising
out of a dispute that directly or indirectly relates to the Com-
pany Parties shall not be brought unless the same is com-
menced within One Hundred and Eighty (180) days following
the incident giving rise to such dispute. My failure to com-
mence such proceeding within the One Hundred Eighty (180)
day period shall result in the extinguishment of any rights I may
have to prosecute such claims or actions and shall constitute an
irrevocable waiver of any rights I have to prosecute such claims
or actions. . . .
Regarding the complaint allegations that the class action
waiver provisions in the Employment Agreement (GC Exh. 2 at
5) and in the Contract and Receipt (GC Exh. 3) violate the Act
7 But see E.A. Renfroe & Co., Inc., 10–CA–171072, unpublished
Board order issued Oct. 4, 2018 (2018 WL 4851368), issuing notice to
show cause why Sec. 8(a)(1) finding in which the administrative law
pursuant to Murphy Oil, above or D. R. Horton, 357 NLRB 2277,
2293 (2012), enf denied in relevant part 737 F.3d 344 (5th Cir.
2013), the parties raise no arguments or factual matters to distin-
guish these provisions from those considered in Murphy Oil. In
light of the Supreme Court’s ruling in Epic Systems, above, and
in the absence of any arguments that would distinguish this case
from the Supreme Court’s ruling, I recommend that these allega-
tions be dismissed.
However, the Employment Agreement’s explicit requirement
that the employees arbitrate disputes that arise under the National
Labor Relations Act, and related procedural limitations on such
claims, violate the Act. The Board has consistently held that
work rules, including those in mandatory employment agree-
ments, violate Section 8(a)(1) when they prevent or interfere
with employees’ rights to file charges, to participate in Board
proceedings, or to access the Board’s processes. This is a core
Section 7 right, one that must be enforced in order to uphold the
integrity of the Board’s ability to enforce the Act. See Section
8(a)(4) of the Act. See also Ralph’s Grocery Co., 363 NLRB No.
128, slip op. at 3 (2016), citing Babcock & Wilcox Construction
Co., 361 NLRB 1127, 1128–1129 (2014) (rules requiring em-
ployees to arbitrate NLRA claims impedes their access to the
Board). Here, the Respondent includes all claims, without limi-
tation, and also explicitly includes claims under the National La-
bor Relations Act, as claims that must be brought in arbitration
pursuant to the Employment Agreement. Therefore, the Employ-
ment Agreement explicitly violates the Act, on its face. No bal-
ancing of the Respondent’s justifications is required when the
Respondent’s rule explicitly violates the Act. See Boeing, above,
and Lutheran Heritage, above.
In the Respondent’s Contract and Receipt, the Respondent did
not enumerate claims under the NLRA as examples of those that
it would require to be arbitrated. Instead, the Respondent listed
examples of types of claims that are subject to mandatory arbi-
tration, such as other civil rights and antidiscrimination statutes,
emphasizing that the exclusive method for all employee claims
against the employer is mandatory arbitration. It further requires
employees to expressly waive their right to adjudicate any claims
against the employer before any Federal or State court or agency.
Prior to the Boeing ruling, the Board has repeatedly found that
requiring arbitration of a broadly inclusive description of all em-
ployment claims would interfere with the core Section 7 rights.
See U-Haul Co. of California, 347 NLRB 375, 377–378 (2006),
enfd. 255 FedAppx. 527 (D.C. Cir. 2007) (finding pursuant to
the Lutheran Heritage reasonably construe standard in Lutheran
Heritage that a rule that did not expressly affect NLRA claims
interfered with Section 7 right to access to the Board processes.)7
I find that the Board’s reasoning in U-Haul, and its progeny, sup-
ports my finding that such a rule potentially interferes with core
Section 7 rights. The Respondent has failed to assert or show any
justification for the inclusion of NLRA claims in the arbitration
agreement. Although the expected benefits of alternative dispute
resolution, like arbitration, are well known, such as cost savings,
predictability, or convenience, here, the Respondent has failed to
judge relied on U-Haul, above, should not be remanded to the judge in
light of Boeing, above.
DECISIONS OF THE NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD16
show that any asserted benefits of arbitration outweigh the po-
tential impact on core Section 7 rights. Therefore, pursuant to the
Boeing balancing test, I find the Contract and Receipt also vio-
lates Section 8(a)(1).
I find that the choice of law provision of the Employment
Agreement, however, does not violate the Act. It is common
practice for drafters of agreements to include a choice of
law/conflict of laws provision, which may serve various pur-
poses, but at the least, it may prevent a need for preliminary liti-
gation regarding which laws apply. That the parties had agreed
that the contract should be interpreted under the law of Michigan
would not be controlling on the Board. I am unaware of any prec-
edent establishing that a choice of law/conflicts of law provision
in an employment contract would reasonably chill Section 7
rights. Nor has the General Counsel established that the choice
of law/conflicts of law provision, when reasonably read by em-
ployees, would potentially interfere with Section 7 rights pursu-
ant to the Boeing balancing test. This is the type of rule, as sug-
gested in Boeing, that although found lawful on its face, might
be found unlawful, if it were to be unlawfully applied. Therefore,
I find that the General Counsel has not shown that this provision
violates Section 8(a)(1), and I recommend dismissing the allega-
tion.
I find that the Respondent’s Employment Agreement and the
Contract and Receipt violate Section 8(a)(1) to the extent they
expressly and impliedly interfere with employees’ right to file
charges, to participate in Board proceedings, or to access the
Board’s processes. I recommend that the Board determine that
these types of rules are Category 3 rules—rules that generally
will be found to be unlawful. I further find that the choice of law
provision has not been shown to violate Section 8(a)(1), and I
recommend that the Board find these types of provisions be
found to be Category 1 rules—rules that generally will be found
to be lawful.
2. Requirement that employees agree to indemnify Respondent
(Complaint pars 8 and 9)
In addition to the provisions described above, the Employ-
ment Agreement (GC Exh. 2) states the following:
6. Remedies. Employee acknowledges that any breach of this
Agreement could cause irreparable damage to Employer in-
cluding, without limitation, loss of Employees, loss of Custom-
ers, future growth,. profitability, strategic planning, reputation,
and goodwill, and that, in the event of such breach, Employer'
shall have the right, without being required to post bond or
other 'security, to obtain equitable relief, including, without
limitation; ex-parte injunctive relief and /or specific perfor-
mance, to prevent the violation of Employee's obligations here-
under. It is expressly understood and agreed that nothing herein
contained shall be construed as prohibiting Employer from
electing to pursue any other remedies available for such breach
or threatened breach or for any other default under this Agree-
ment; including without limitation, the recovery of damages. In
addition, Employer may join Employee as a party to a lawsuit
in order to enforce its rights under any provision of this Agree-
ment. In any action successfully brought by Employer against
Employee to enforce this Agreement or any other agreement
between the parties, Employer shall also be entitled to recover
from Employee, the Employer's actual attorneys' fees and costs
relating thereto except as prohibited by law. Notwithstanding
anything to the contrary, this Agreement '(except for pars. 1 and
2) shall remain, enforceable and shall survive the termination
of the employment relationship and shall not be deemed
merged or extinguished by any act absent the express written
consent of the parties.
7. Arbitration. (see above, describing requirement that employ-
ees arbitrate disputes against employer.)
8. Indemnity. Employee shall unconditionally and absolutely
indemnify, defend and save harmless Employer from and
against any and all claims, causes of action, demands, damages,
liabilities, costs, actual attorneys’ fees, losses, and expenses of
every nature and kind whatsoever that in any way relate to Em-
ployee's breach of this Agreement and/or the addenda/offer let-
ter attached hereto, intentional acts, and/or negligence (the "Li-
abilities"). Employee agrees to advance to Employer all costs,
actual attorneys' fees, actual experts' fees, and similarly related
expenses arising from the Liabilities immediately upon request
so that the Employer is not required to pay such expenses out
of its own funds. Employer shall have the right to select the
attorneys of its choice to defend the Employer, at Employee's
sole cost and expense, and to make all decisions and in every
respect control the manner in which the Employer is defended.
In addition to the provisions described above, the Contract and
Receipt (GC Exh. 3) states the following:
The Company may file a suit in equity to enforce the terms and
provisions hereof by obtaining the issuance of an injunction or
ex -parte restraining order to enjoin and prohibit me from such
breach or threatened breach hereof. In any action for equitable
relief, the Company shall not be obligated to post a bond or any
security as a condition to obtain the issuance of a restraining
order, injunction or other equitable relief. I acknowledge that
all of the provisions hereof are reasonable, and waive any de-
fense on such basis. . . .
. . . In any proceeding, the parties shall have the right to repre-
sentation by counsel. The parties may mutually agree that the
arbitration therein be stenographically recorded, provided that
each party shall equally share the cost of creating and printing
the record. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in the
AAA Rules of Employment or otherwise, the cost for arbitra-
tion shall initially be split equally between me and the Com-
pany, provided however that the prevailing party in any dispute
between the parties will be entitled to its costs and expenses
including attorney fees, court or arbitration costs and all other
costs associated with such action. IF THE ARBITRATION
PROVISION IS HELD TO BE INVALID, VOID, OR
UNENFORCEABLE BY A COURT OF COMPETENT
JURISDICTION, THEN I KNOWINGLY AND
WILLINGLY WAIVE MY RIGHT TO TRIAL BY JURY
ON ANY MATTER DIRECTLYOR INDIRECTLY
RELATING TO THE EMPLOYMENT RELATIONSHIP.
(emphasis in original).
The General Counsel asserts that the indemnity provisions of
the Employment Agreement and Contract and Receipt violate
the Act because, in addition to impliedly requiring that NLRA
MOTOR CITY PAWN BROKERS INC. 17
claims be submitted to arbitration, these provisions impose a sig-
nificant financial burden to pursuing claims, and arguably pre-
sent a threat of significant financial risk for engaging in pro-
tected, concerted activity. The Respondent argues that the in-
demnity requirements only apply if an employee breaches the
agreement, suggesting that these rules would not chill the exer-
cise of Section 7 rights. The Respondent explains that it has an
interest in protecting itself from potential liability from third par-
ties, related to breaches of the Employment Agreement.
These provisions are facially neutral rules, and I will apply the
Boeing balancing test. I agree with the General Counsel that the
extensive and broad indemnity provision potentially interferes
with employees’ Section 7 rights by placing a heavy financial
burden on the pursuit of claims. The provisions are overbroad
and vague, not clearly identifying what types of claims the pro-
visions apply to. These provisions make plain that, while draft-
ing these work rules to require employees to arbitrate all claims
against the Respondent, the Respondent explicitly retained the
right to seek redress in court if the Respondent chose to bring
claims against employees—in other words, these work rules do
not represent a mutual “agreement” to arbitrate. The Respondent
through these work rules also explicitly shifts the potential cost
of enforcing some of these rules against employees onto the em-
ployee. From the perspective of an employee, these provisions
would chill a wide range of activities, including some protected
concerted activities, due to the significant financial burden and
risk of potentially violating the agreement. The Respondent as-
serts that the indemnity provisions are meant to “warn employees
that they will be held liable for their negligent or intentional acts
against the company . . .” (R. Sup. Br. at 12.) That statement
affirms my finding that the over breadth of these indemnity pro-
visions results in a clear tendency to chill employees in the exer-
cise of Section 7 rights, as organizing a union or taking protected
actions against an employer, such as a strike, might be under-
stood as falling within an “intentional act” against the company.
Although the Respondent may have an interest in shifting as
much of the costs and risks of doing business to its employees as
possible, it has not articulated or established on this record a suf-
ficient justification to outweigh the substantial potential interfer-
ence with Section 7 activity, including the bringing of claims or,
as will be discussed below, the association with other employees
for organizing activities or for mutual aid or protection. See Boe-
ing, above.
Applying the Boeing balancing test, I find that the indemnity
provisions of the Employment Agreement and the Contract and
Receipt violate Section 8(a)(1). I recommend that the Board de-
termine that these types of rules are Category 3 rules—rules that
generally will be found to be unlawful.
3. Prohibitions and restrictions on employee disclosure of infor-
mation identified by employer as confidential (Complaint pars
8, 10, and 11)
The Employment Agreement (GC Exh. 2) states the follow-
ing:
3. Confidentiality, Non-Competition and Non-Solicitation.
a. Confidentiality. The relationship with Employer has been
and/or will be one oftrust and confidence and there has been
and/or will be available to Employee certain written, oral, vis-
ual, and/or electronic information relating to trade secrets and
proprietary interests of Employer, Related Entities (defined be-
low), and their clients, employees, independent contractors,
vendors, subcontractors, business prospects, and /or referral
sources which include, but may not be limited to, records and
information dealing with projects, business opportunities, intel-
lectual property, data storage and custom design solutions, cus-
tomer lists, customer information, customer matters; customer
identities, business strategies, business methods, security meth-
ods, business procedures, business practices, services, con-
cepts, ideas (whether tangible or intangible), formulae, appli-
cations, inventions, software, calculations, analyses, projects,
plans, profit margins, prices, processes, operating. procedures,
designs, systems, source code, research, development activi-
ties, technical or scientific information, know –how, products,
financial information, access codes, and all information con-
tained in or on the computer hard drives and/or servers of Em-
ployer, and other items relative thereto, whether or not copy-
righted, patented or patentable (herein collectively and individ-
ually referred to as the "Confidential Information"). The Con-
fidential Information, regardless of form, is, and shall always
remain, the sole and exclusive property of Employer and /or
Related Entities. Employee shall not reverse engineer, disas-
semble, or decompile any prototypes, software, or other tangi-
ble objects that embody the Confidential Information.
b. Non-Disclosure of Employer’s Confidential Information.
Employee shall not,whether during the term of this Agreement,
or thereafter, regardless of the time, manner, reason or lack of
same, directly or indirectly, disclose to any person, firm or cor-
poration, or permit to be used, any Confidential Information, or
divulge any other information concerning the business of Em-
ployer that it has or acquires 'during the period of Employee's
engagement with Employer without the express written author-
ization from the Employer.
c. Non-Disclosure of Other Information. Employee shall not,
regardless of the time, manner, reason or lack of same, directly
or indirectly, divulge or disclose to Employer, any of Employ-
er's members, managers, employees, independent contractors
or agents at any time, or otherwise disclose, divulge, or use
within the scope of Employee's employment with Employer
any confidential information belonging to or related in any way
to any of Employee's previous employers or said employers'
businesses, regardless of whether or not such information is
covered by an agreement containing confidentiality or similar
provisions.
The Employee Handbook (GC Exh. 4) and the Updated Hand-
book (GC Exh. 15) state the following:
1. “FOREWORD”
. . . No part of this handbook may be reproduced or transmitted
in any form or by any means, electronic or otherwise, including
photocopying or recording, for any business/commercial ven-
ture without the express written permission of Motor City
Pawn Brokers. The information contained in this handbook is
strictly limited to use by the Motor City Pawn Brokers' employ-
ees. . . . Making an unauthorized disclosure of this handbook is
DECISIONS OF THE NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD18
a serious breach of the Motor City Pawn Brokers' standards of
conduct and ethics and shall expose the disclosing party to dis-
ciplinary action and other liabilities as permitted under law.
This handbook and the information in it should be treated as
confidential. . . .
2. NON–DISCLOSURE
The protection of confidential business information and trade
secrets is vital to the interests and the success of Motor City
Pawn Brokers. All employees are required to sign a non-dis-
closure agreement as a condition of employment. Employees
who improperly use or disclose trade secrets or confidential
business information will be subject to disciplinary action, up
to and including termination of employment and legal actions,
even if they do not actually benefit from the disclosed infor-
mation.
3. “PROHIBITED ACTIVITIES (STANDARDS OF
CONDUCT)” Motor City Pawn Brokers wishes to create a
work environment that promotes job satisfaction, respect, re-
sponsibility, and value for all of our employees, clients, cus-
tomers and other stakeholders. Every employee at Motor City
Pawn Brokers has a shared responsibility toward improving the
quality of the work environment. By agreeing to work at Motor
City Pawn Brokers you have agreed to follow the Company's
rules and to refrain from conduct which is detrimental to our
goals. The prohibited conduct that is listed below is not an in-
clusive list, as the Company cannot, with foresight, determine
what is inappropriate conduct under every circumstance. More-
over, the Company does not limit its right to discipline or dis-
charge employees to the prohibited conduct listed below. Re-
member that, while we value our employees, the Company
maintains the right to terminate its employees at any time and
for any reason, with or without notice. . . .
The following list contains examples of conduct considered
improper which may result in discipline, up to and including
termination. Again, note this is not a complete list and intended
to be examples of misconduct, and that other behaviors may
also result in discipline. . . .
Disclosure of Company trade secrets or any other confidential
or proprietary information of the Company, its customers or
fellow employees. . . .
The Updated Handbook (GC Exh. 15 at 27) also contains the
following rule:
Workplace Expectations
Confidential information, including without limitation, infor-
mation about marketing plans, costs, earnings, documents,
notes, files, lists and medical files, records, oral information,
computer files or similar materials (except in the ordinary
course of performing duties on behalf of Company) may not be
removed from Company's premises without permission. Em-
ployees must not disclose confidential information, confiden-
tial financial data, or other non-public proprietary information
of the Company, nor may employees share confidential
8 Neither I nor the Board is bound by guidance material published by
the General Counsel, which the Respondent relies on here.
information regarding business partners, vendors, or custom-
ers.
It is well settled that employees have a statutorily protected
right to communicate about their wages and terms and conditions
of employment with third parties, including union representa-
tives, government officials, other businesses, and the public.
Trinity Protection Services, 357 NLRB 1382 (2011). This in-
cludes divulging some business-related information, when it is
related to wages or terms and conditions of employment or oth-
erwise related to a labor dispute. Id. Employees also have a pro-
tected right to discuss their terms and conditions of employment
with other employees. The Respondent’s over inclusive confi-
dentiality rules prohibiting disclosure of information it deems
confidential potentially interferes with these protected rights.
Although the Respondent has offered anecdotal evidence that a
former employee once divulged proprietary information to a
competitor as a reason for its need for these rules, this justifica-
tion, even if established by objective evidence, does not establish
why the Respondent requires the overly broad rules it has
drafted. These rules do not sufficiently define or distinguish
among the terms “proprietary,” “confidential,” or so called
“trade secrets,” so that the rules reasonably would chill employ-
ees in their Section 7 rights. I find, pursuant to the Boeing bal-
ancing test, that the Respondent’s justification for its confidenti-
ality rules do not outweigh the potential interference on Section
7 rights.
The Respondent also argues that the Employment Agreement
(and presumably the Contract and Receipt) should not be inter-
preted to affect Section 7 rights, because it refers to the Em-
ployee Handbook, which contains a clause in a section dealing
with “confidentiality expectations” stating, “[t]his Confidential-
ity Policy does not apply, and will not be enforced, in any man-
ner that would restrict, infringe upon or otherwise limit employ-
ees’ rights under the National Labor Relations Act, including,
without limitation the right to engage in concerted activities for
the purpose of mutual aid and protection. The Company will en-
force this Policy in accordance with applicable international, na-
tional, country (sic.), federal, state and local laws.” GC Exh. 10
at 27–28. The Respondent urges that this savings clause makes
its confidentiality and nondisclosure rules lawful.8 This argu-
ment is unpersuasive. First, this savings clause is found two-
thirds of the way into a 45-page document and is not set forth in
a manner that would make it readily identifiable to a reader. No-
tably, it is not found in proximity to the list of prohibited con-
duct, including nondisclosure of confidential information that
the complaint alleges to be unlawful, which is 15 pages away
(GC Exh. 10 at 10–12, 27–28). Nor is the savings clause con-
tained in the Employment Agreement or Contract and Receipt
that the Respondent required employees to sign. In this context,
employees would not reasonably understand that the savings
statement applied to other references to confidentiality, nondis-
closure, or other rules in the employment documents. Moreover,
on its face, the savings clause only refers to the Confidentiality
Policy listed at GC Exh. 10 at 27, which is not one of the confi-
dentiality provisions alleged as unlawful in the complaint.
MOTOR CITY PAWN BROKERS INC. 19
Based on the above, I find that the Respondent’s maintenance
of the overly broad confidentiality rules alleged as unlawful in
the complaint violate Section 8(a)(1). I recommend that the
Board determine that these types of rules are Category 2 rules—
rules that generally will require contextual scrutiny to determine
their lawfulness.
4. Respondent’s prohibitions and limitations affecting commu-
nication, solicitation, and association with other employees
(Complaint pars. 8, 10, 11)
In addition to information discussed above, the Employment
Agreement (GC Exh. 2 at 2–3) states the following:
3. Confidentiality, Non-Competition and Non-Solicitation.
. . .
f. Prohibited Association. For purposes of this Agreement,
"Prohibited Association" means any and all situations whereby
Employee is acting directly or indirectly, for Employee's own
benefit or for the benefit of any other person, firm, or business
organization, or as a partner, stockholder, officer, director, pro-
prietor, employee, consultant, representative, independent con-
tractor, agent of a third party, member and/or manager includ-
ing, without limitation, through any entity or person.
g. Solicit. For purposes of this Agreement, "Solicit" shall mean
any contact, communication, dialogue, or undertaking whether
the same is initiated by Employee or by any former or current
employee, independent contractor, customer, or referral source
of Employer and/or Related Entities (defined below), whether
for business, employment, retention, social or other purposes. .
. .
i. Employees. For purposes of this Agreement, the term "Em-
ployees" shall mean any individuals employed or retained as
an independent contractor by Employer and/or Related Entities
(defined below) at any time during the Period. During the Pe-
riod, Employee shall not employ or Solicit any Employees, So-
licit for purposes of employment or association, and/or induce
any Employees to terminate such employment or association,
or otherwise engage any Employees or permit such engage-
ment to the extent Employee has the authority to prevent same.
. . .
In addition to the provisions discussed above, the Employee
Handbook (GC Exh. 4) and Updated Handbook (GC Exh. 15)
list the following proscribed conduct in their respective “Prohib-
ited Activities (Standards of Conduct)” sections:
Solicitation of fellow employees on Company premises
. . .
Use of obscene or otherwise inappropriate language or conduct
in the work place. …
Bad mouthing or spreading rumors.
. . .
The Updated Handbook (GC Exh. 15 at 22) also contains the
following rules:
9 This provision is not alleged to be unlawful; it is included as context
and reference.
Workplace Bullying
At Motor City Pawn Brokers we define bullying as unwanted,
inappropriate, aggressive behavior, either direct or indirect,
whether it be physical, verbal or in any other form. It involves
a real or perceived power imbalance. Bullying can be con-
ducted by one or more persons involved against others at the
place of employment or can occur off Company property
The Respondent’s rules prohibiting association and solicita-
tion are significantly overbroad rules that unlawfully interfere
with employees’ right to associate and communicate with other
employees. Restrictions on solicitation, without limitations or
exceptions for nonwork time or nonwork areas have long been
found contrary to the purposes of the Act. Republic Aviation, 324
U.S. 739 (1945). The Respondent asserts that its primary concern
in establishing the no solicitation rules was the recruitment of its
employees by former employees or competitors to resign and
work for a competitor. However, the language of the no-solicita-
tion rules is much broader than that, and clearly encompasses
protected associational activities protected by the Act. Moreover,
the Respondent’s asserted concern regarding “solicitation” of its
current employees for work with a competitor is addressed di-
rectly by a noncompete provision of the Employment Agreement
(GC Exh. 2 at 3). This overly broad rule directly interferes with
Section 7 rights, and so the rule is not facially neutral; therefore,
the Boeing balancing test does not apply.
The General Counsel argues that the Respondent’s prohibi-
tions of “inappropriate language or conduct”9 and “badmouthing
or spreading rumors,” as well as its workplace bullying provision
violate the Act. The General Counsel argues that by using the
qualifier “inappropriate,” the Respondent has retained too much
authority to determine what violates the rule, rending it overly
broad. See Lily Transportation Corp., 362 NLRB 406 (2015)
The General Counsel argues that the rule prohibiting “badmouth-
ing and spreading rumors” violates the Act, because it encom-
passes protected speech. The General Counsel similarly argues
that the workplace bullying provision is overly broad, encom-
passing protected speech or activities. Id. These are facially neu-
tral rules in that they do not expressly interfere with Section 7
rights, but, in their over breadth, they have the potential to inter-
fere with Section 7 rights. Therefore, the Boeing balancing test
applies. The Respondent articulates a general desire to encourage
a civil and safe working environment, however, it has not estab-
lished any particularized needs for these rules.
Employees are entitled to pressure each other, to lobby each
other, and to raise or discuss with each other controversial issues
concerning terms and conditions of employment. They are enti-
tled to try to persuade each other to either join or not join a union,
and to either engage in or refrain from other protected concerted
activities. Sometimes, these discussions can be uncomfortable or
unpleasant, but that alone does not make them unprotected. See,
e.g., Hispanics United of Buffalo, 359 NLRB 368, 370 (2012);
see Linn v. United Plant Guards, 383 U.S. 53, 61 (1966). Here,
the Respondent’s overly broad, facially neutral rules have a ten-
dency to chill those protected activities, by prohibiting “inappro-
priate” words or conduct. I find that they have the potential to
DECISIONS OF THE NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD20
interfere with important Section 7 rights. The Respondent’s gen-
eral desire to maintain a civil work environment is a legitimate
justification for these rules. I find that on balance, the Respond-
ent’s articulated justification for these overly broad rules does
not outweigh employees’ demonstrable right to associate and en-
gage in discussions about working conditions. In making this
finding, I have considered that the Board stated in Boeing that
certain “civility” rules would generally be considered lawful.
365 NLRB No. 154, slip op. at 4, fn. 15. Here, however, the rules
are not just workplace civility rules, but encompass communica-
tion and association among employees.
Based on the above, and applying the Boeing balancing test, I
find that the Respondent’s prohibitions of “inappropriate” lan-
guage and conduct in the Employee Handbook and the Updated
Handbook, including the workplace bully provision, and the pro-
hibition against “badmouthing and spreading rumors” violate
Section 8(a)(1). I recommend that the Board determine that
these types of rules are Category 2 rules—rules that generally
will require contextual scrutiny to determine their lawfulness.
5. Respondent’s prohibitions and limitations on communica-
tions and associations with customers and the public(Complaint
par 8, 10 and 11)
In addition to information discussed above, the Employment
Agreement (GC Exh. 2 at 2–3) states the following:
3. Confidentiality, Non-Competition and Non-Solicitation.
. . .
l. Non-Disparagement. Employee shall refrain from com-
municating orally, or in writing, or by any other manner what-
soever to any customer or third party, any disparaging claim,
remark, allegation, statement, opinion, comment, innuendo or
information of any kind or nature whatsoever, the effect of or
intention of which is to cause embarrassment, disparagement,
damage or injury to the reputation, business, or standing in the
community of Customers, Employer and/or Related Entities,
and their customers, members, managers, officers, owners, em-
ployees, independent contractors, agents, attorneys, or repre-
sentatives, regardless of whether any such communication is or
may be true or founded in facts.
m. Dealings with Customers Employee shall not disclose the
terms and conditions of this Agreement with Customers, in-
cluding, without limitation, any payments terms or other infor-
mation. Employee shall not attempt to negative influence or
otherwise discourage or dissuade any Customer or other party
from maintaining its relationship with Employer
In addition to the provisions discussed above, the Employee
Handbook (GC Exh. 4 at 11) and Updated Handbook (GC Exh.
15 at 12) list the following proscribed conduct in their respective
“Prohibited Activities (Standards of Conduct)” sections:
Off-duty conduct which can affect the Company’s credibility
or reputation.
Outside employment which interferes with your ability to
10 This provision is not alleged to be unlawful; it is included as context
and reference.
perform your job at this Company, including, but not limited
to, that with a competitor of the Company.10
The Updated Handbook (GC Exh. 15 at 30-32) also contains the
following rules:
Outside of Work Behavior
. . . Motor City Pawn Brokers may terminate workers engaging
in criminal activity outside the workplace, when off-duty con-
duct reflects unfavorably on the employee, fellow employees
and/or the Company generally, and when an employee's off-
duty work activities are such as to create critical comment of
the Company by the general public. Any slander of the Com-
pany, representing the Company or themselves as an employee
in any negative or demeaning way will result in termination.
This “Outside Work Behavior” Policy does not apply, and will
not be enforced, in any manner that would restrict, infringe
upon or otherwise limit employees’ rights under the National
Labor Relations Act, including without limitation the right to
engage in concerted activities for the purpose of mutual aid and
protection. The Company will enforce this Policy in accord-
ance with all applicable international, national, country, fed-
eral, state and local laws.
The Board has long recognized that Section 7 protects em-
ployees’ rights to seek support from and speak with third parties,
including customers, concerning labor disputes and other work-
place concerns. See, e.g., First Transit Inc., 360 NLRB 619
(2014), and Karl Knauz Motors, Inc., 358 NLRB 1754 (2012),
and cases cited therein. Although the Board recognizes that there
are limits to what an employee might say to a customer or the
public about the employer, specifically, they are not protected
when they engage in disparagement of the employer’s product or
to engage in malice, the Board also recognizes that sometimes
these protected discussions with third parties may result in put-
ting the employer in a bad light, without a loss of protection of
the Act.
Here, the Respondent’s rules limiting employee communica-
tions to third parties about the employer are extraordinarily broad
and are not consistent with employees’ protected right to seek
outside support concerning their terms and conditions of em-
ployment. These are facially neutral rules, in that they do not ex-
pressly interfere with Section 7 rights. However, in encompass-
ing the right to reach out to third parties about their working con-
ditions, these rules have a reasonable tendency to interfere with
employees’ Section 7 rights. The Respondent has not asserted
any specific justification for these rules, although it is under-
standable that the Respondent would want to control its image
and the information made public, and that it would not want its
customers to be dissuaded from maintaining their relationship
with the Respondent. However, these generalized explanations
for the rules do not outweigh the important, long-recognized pro-
tected right of employees to seek support from third parties, in-
cluding customers or the public in labor disputes. Thus, on bal-
ance, I find that these rules in the Employee Handbook violated
Section 8(a)(1) pursuant to the Boeing balancing test.
In the Updated Handbook, GC Exh. 15 at 30–32, the
MOTOR CITY PAWN BROKERS INC. 21
Respondent prohibits certain outside of work behavior in gen-
eral, overbroad terms that could encompass protected activities
of association and communication with unions, other employees,
or third parties. In contrast to other rule provisions, however, this
rule also contains a proviso identifying that it will not be applied
to “restrict, infringe upon, or otherwise limit employees’ rights
under the National Labor Relations Act, including, without lim-
itation the right to engage in concerted activities for the purpose
of mutual aid and protection.” I find that, in context, this proviso
saves the otherwise overly broad terms of the provision by ex-
plaining to employees specific limits to the overly broad rules.
In context, with this proviso immediately following the broad
limitations on “outside work activities,” which otherwise would
potentially interfere with Section 7 rights, I find that this rule in
the Updated Handbook, does not have a reasonable tendency to
interfere with Section 7 rights, because the proviso advises em-
ployees that the rule will not be applied against employees’ ac-
tivities protected by the Act.
I recommend that the Board determine that these types of rules
are Category 2 rules—rules that generally will require contextual
scrutiny to determine their lawfulness.
6. Respondent’s limitations on use of email (Complaint pars.
10 and 11)
The Employee Handbook (GC Exh. 4 at 36) and the Updated
Handbook (GC Exh. 15 at 37–6) contain the following rule pro-
vision:
Internet Etiquette
When at work stick to work. . . . Computers, printers, fax ma-
chines and other equipment are to be used exclusively for the
business activities of the Company. Users are permitted to ac-
cess the Internet and electronic communications systems to as-
sist in the performance of their jobs. The following behaviors
are banned from Motor City Pawn Brokers:
. . .
 sending personal email
Pursuant to the current legal standard established in Purple
Communications, Inc., 361 NLRB 1050, 1063 (2014), the above
rule is unlawful. Under the test, the Board presumes that employ-
ees who have the rightful access to their employer’s email sys-
tems, in the course of their work, have a right to use the email
system for statutorily protected communications during non-
working time. The above limitations on the use of email are
overly broad, in that they do not account for this established
right. The Board emphasized in Purple Communications that it
anticipated that special circumstances will rarely justify a total
ban on all nonwork email use by employees. Id. Here, the Re-
spondent has provided no evidence of a particularized or com-
pelling need to exclude employees from the use of Respondent’s
email for statutorily protected communication during nonwork
time, such as during breaks. Therefore, based on the Board’s cur-
rent legal standard, this rule is unlawful.
7. Respondent’s limitations on use of Internet and social media
11 This provision is not alleged to be unlawful; it is included as context
and reference.
(Complaint pars. 10 and 11)
In addition to the provision above, the Employee Handbook
(GC Exh. 4 at 36) and the Updated Handbook also contain the
following rule provision (GC Exh. 15 at 37):
Internet Etiquette
When at work stick to work. . . . Computers, printers, fax ma-
chines and other equipment are to be used exclusively for the
business activities of the Company. Users are permitted to ac-
cess the Internet and electronic communications systems to as-
sist in the performance of their jobs. The following behaviors
are banned from Motor City Pawn Brokers:
. . .
 chatting
. . .
 utilizing Facebook and other social networking sites
 blogging . . .
The Updated Handbook contains the following provision (GC
Exh. 15 at 35):
Social Media is acceptable if it:
1. Is permitted because of a protected legal right;11 or
2. Has been approved in writing by the Company; or
3. Contains information consistent with the Company’s web-
site and published materials; or
4. Clearly identifies that an employee is not acting on behalf of
the Company.
. . .
Social Media is unacceptable if it:
. . .
2. Compromises or may compromise the confidentiality of pro-
prietary, or other sensitive information of the Company, it's of-
ficers, owners, employees, agents, contractors, clients, mer-
chants, or representatives including, without limitation, the dis-
closure of trade secrets (including, without limitation, infor-
mation regarding the development of products, processes, tech-
nology, systems, and know-how), financial records, internal
business-related confidential communications and memo-
randa, client and merchant lists, client and merchant infor-
mation, client and merchant account records, pricing records,
business forms, and strategic planning information; . . .
As discussed above, the Board has long-held that work rules
interfering with employees’ ability to engage in communication
with fellow employees about their terms and conditions of em-
ployment, or that interfere with employees’ ability to seek sup-
port from the public about their terms and conditions of employ-
ment, are unlawful. See, e.g., Boch Honda, 362 NLRB 706
(2015), and Kinder-Care Learning Centers, 299 NLRB 1171
(1990). The above social media rules are facially neutral rules,
in that they do not explicitly restrict or interfere with employees’
Section 7 rights. As written, and in context, I find that the Em-
ployee Handbook and Updated Handbook rule prohibiting
DECISIONS OF THE NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD22
employees from “chatting,” “utilizing Facebook and other social
networking sites,” and “blogging”, as well as the Updated Hand-
book’s rule stating that various subjects identified as confidential
are “unacceptable” topics for social media are overly broad rules,
in that, from an employee’s perspective, they have a tendency to
chill Section 7 rights. Communication with other employees and
the public about terms and conditions of employment is a core
Section 7 right. The Respondent’s general assertions regarding
its interest in protecting information or controlling its image are
insufficient to establish a justification that would outweigh the
potential interference with these protected rights. Therefore, ap-
plying the Boeing balancing test, I find that these rules violate
Section 8(a)(1).
In contrast, I find that the provision of the Updated Handbook
rule explaining when social media is acceptable does not violate
the Act, because the first item listed in the provision clearly states
that social media is acceptable when “permitted because of a pro-
tected legal right.” When read in context, employees would rea-
sonably understand that the limitations alleged to be unlawful,
which follow the first item and are listed in the disjunctive (i.e.,
“or”), are additional ways that social media would be acceptable
to the Respondent, not overly broad rules interfering with their
protected right to communication about terms and conditions of
employment. Therefore, I find that this provision, in this context,
does not potentially interfere with Section 7 rights and is lawful.
Boeing, above. Lutheran Heritage, above.
I recommend that the Board determine that these types of rules
are Category 2 rules—rules that generally will require contextual
scrutiny to determine their lawfulness.
8. Respondent’s prohibition on recording in workplace(Com-
plaint par. 11)
The Updated Handbook contains the following provision (GC
Exh. 15 at 38):
. . . The Company has a strong interest in preserving the privacy
of its customers and business practices, therefore, Recording
Devices maybe used by employees in the work environment if
1. All parties that may be recorded have been informed in ad-
vance of the risk of being recorded;
2. All such parties affirmatively consent to the video/photo/au-
dio recording; and
3. The Recording Device is in plain view of such-parties at all
times.
Employees who violate this Policy may be subject to discipli-
nary action, up to and including termination of employment
with the Company, and criminal and/or civil liability for eaves-
dropping, invasion of privacy, and/or other violations of the
law.
In Boeing, above, the Board found that Boeing’s no-camera
rule did not violate the Act. In so finding, the Board recognized
an employee’s right to record protected concerted activities and
determined that the no-camera rule in some circumstances may
potentially affect Section 7 rights, but that the adverse impact
was comparatively slight. 365 NLRB No. 154, slip op. at 17. The
12 This provision is not alleged to be unlawful; it is included as context
and reference.
Board concluded that the adverse impact on Section 7 rights was
outweighed by Boeing’s substantial and important justifications
for the rule, which included national security interests, the need
to protect proprietary interests of clients, including governments,
and the nondisclosure of personally identifiable information. Id.
slip op. at 17–18. The Board further found that, although Boe-
ing’s justifications for the no-camera rule was particularly com-
pelling, the Board anticipated that no-camera rules, in general,
would be assigned to Category 1 rules, meaning that they are the
type of rules the Board will generally find to be lawful.
The record does not establish that the no-recording rules in
this case would have any more of an impact on Section 7 rights
than the no-camera rule in Boeing, above. Therefore, I rely on
the Board’s guidance in Boeing to determine that the no-record-
ing rules in this case have a comparatively slight impact on Sec-
tion 7 rights. Id. The Respondent asserts a need to protect its pro-
prietary information and personal information of clients and em-
ployees, and to comply with state law. The Respondent asserts,
without having provided any objective evidence, that the pawn
industry is a highly regulated industry, and that, as a member of
the financial industry, the pawn industry requires a high degree
of security. The General Counsel argues that the lack of record
evidence to support this assertion should be determinative. Some
heightened security requirements would seem consistent with
the business of pawn shops, including the need to protect client
financial and collateral information. Even in the absence of com-
pelling evidence akin to that in Boeing, however, I find, based
on the Board’s instruction in Boeing that no-camera rules are
generally considered lawful, that the Respondent’s rule in this
case is lawful. I recommend, therefore, that this allegation be dis-
missed.
9. Respondent’s requirements of honesty and commitment to
Respondent (Complaint pars. 10 and 11)
The Updated Handbook states the following as one of its “Ten
Commandments of Motor City Pawn” (GC Exh. 15 at 3).
Be Honest
I will conduct myself in a manner that will allow me to always
be able to tell the truth and be at peace. I realize that I am above
any theft, deception, lies or dishonesty. . . .
The Employee Handbook (GC Exh. 4 at 10–12) and the updated
Handbook (GC Exh. 15 at 10–12) state the following in the sec-
tion “Prohibited Activities (Standards of Conduct),” which, as
noted above, identifies a non-exhaustive list of “examples of
conduct considered improper”:
By agreeing to work at Motor City Pawn Brokers you have
agreed to follow the Company's rules and to refrain from con-
duct which is detrimental to our goals. . . .
Falsification of the hours worked by you or any other em-
ployee.12
Falsification of any other employment related documents in-
cluding, but not limited to, personnel files, employment review
documents, intra-Company communication, communications
with those outside the Company, expense records, etc.
MOTOR CITY PAWN BROKERS INC. 23
The Respondent’s broad statement that employees must re-
frain from conduct that is “detrimental to [Respondent’s] goals,”
is an overly broad requirement of loyalty to the employer that
would potentially interfere with employees’ Section 7 rights to
align with Unions or engage in other protected concerted activi-
ties that an employer might construe as disloyal. But the Re-
spondent’s assertions that it is vulnerable to employees leaving
to work with competitors, and its general business expectations
of commitment to an employer are insufficient justifications to
outweigh the core activity protected by Section 7 of employees
aligning with other employees and unions in opposition to em-
ployers, with respect to their attempts to improve terms and con-
ditions of employment and engage in other activities for mutual
aid or protection. Therefore, applying the Boeing balancing test,
I find that this rule violates Section 8(a)(1).
The General Counsel also alleges that the provision prohibit-
ing “Falsification of any other employment related documents,
including but not limited to . . . communications with those out-
side the Company . . .” violates Section 8(a)(1). The General
Counsel argues that this rule potentially interferes with employ-
ees’ right to seek common cause with others. General or broad
rules that prohibit false statements have been found unlawful by
the Board, in that they unnecessarily intrude on employees’ abil-
ities to communicate freely about their terms and conditions of
employment. Lafayette Park Hotel, above at 823; Radisson
Muehlebach Hotel, 273 NLRB 1464 (1985). In context, how-
ever, I find that this provision would not potentially interfere
with Section 7 rights, because when read in context, employees
would not tend to read this provision to chill Section 7 right; ra-
ther, in a context where the Respondent is listing work-related
documents that employees are expected to refrain from falsify-
ing, “communications with those outside the Company” is rea-
sonably read as communications made on behalf of the employer
in the course of employment. All the other documents listed are
work-related documents, the Respondent should be able to ex-
pect employees to refrain from falsifying in the course of their
job duties. Therefore, in this context, these work rules are lawful.
In contrast, the Updated Handbook’s general requirement to
“Be Honest,” even when in context, is an overly broad rule that
would potentially interfere with employees’ protected rights to
seek common cause. Id. the Respondent has presented insuffi-
cient justification for a need for this overly broad rule. Although
this rule is similar to the “civility” rules the Board has suggested
would generally be found to be lawful as Category 1 rules under
Boeing, above, slip op. at 4 fn. 15, this rule broadly implicates
communication with other employees, government entities, and
the public, and potentially interferes with or restricts protected
communications. Based on the above, under the Boeing balanc-
ing test, I find that this rule violates Section 8(a)(1).
I recommend that the Board determine that these types of rules
are Category 2 rules—rules that generally will require contextual
scrutiny to determine their lawfulness.
C. Did the Respondent Unlawfully Terminate Four Employees
Who Failed to Sign the Employment Agreement?
The General Counsel alleges that the Respondent unlawfully
terminated the employment of four employees who failed or re-
fused to sign the Employment Agreement and the Contract and
Receipt, which contained multiple work rules that violated Sec-
tion 8(a)(1). The General Counsel argues that these discharges
violate Section 8(a)(1). The Respondent makes several argu-
ments in its defense. First, the Respondent argues the two of the
four alleged discriminatees are not entitled to remedies because
they did not file charges, and the allegations raised regarding
their terminations were raised during the investigation, but out-
side the Section 10(b) statute of limitations. Second, the Re-
spondent argues that the rules are lawful, but even if found un-
lawful, the Respondent argues that the employees were termi-
nated for insubordination when they failed and refused to sign
the employment documents. In the absence of evidence of anti-
union animus or animus toward protected concerted activity, the
Respondent asserts that there can be no finding of unlawful ter-
mination. Although the Respondent clearly admits that each of
the four employees was separated from employment for the sole
reason that he or she failed or refused to sign the employment
documents, the Respondent also raises an issue that, because the
individual employees did not express to the Respondent specific
disagreement with the purportedly unlawful rules, and because
the real reason of at least two of them was disagreement with a
non-compete provision that was not alleged to be unlawful, the
employees are not entitled to reinstatement or backpay remedies.
There is no dispute that the allegations of unlawful termina-
tion of charging parties Terrence Walker and Patricia Tilmon
were timely raised pursuant to Section 10(b) in initial charges
filed on July 1, 2016 and served on July 6, 2016. It is unclear
from the record when the allegations about Gianluca Bartolucci
and Ringo Salzar discharges were first raised in the investiga-
tion, but they were first documented in the formal papers in an
amended charge filed on September 15, 2016, and served on
September 16, 2016. Bartolucci was terminated on February 16,
2016, and Salzar was terminated on March 8, 2016. Thus, Bar-
tolucci’s and Salzar’s terminations occurred within 6 months of
the initial, timely filed charges, but outside the 10(b) period for
filing, had they been independent, unrelated violations. The
Board will find otherwise untimely allegations to have been
raised within the 10(b) limitations, when they are raised within
6 months of and are “closely related” to timely filed charges.
Redd-I, 290 NLRB 1115 (1988). To determine whether allega-
tions are closely related for this purpose, the Board considers (1)
whether the allegations involve the same legal theories; (2)
whether the allegations arise from the same factual situation or
sequence of events, which would involve the same or similar
conduct, usually over the same time period; and (3) whether the
Respondent would raise the same or similar defenses, and there-
fore, whether a reasonable respondent would have preserved
similar evidence related to the additional charge to that in the
timely filed charge. Id. Here, all three factors weigh in favor of
finding that the Bartolucci and Salzar allegations were appropri-
ately raised, consistent with Section 10(b). First, the legal theory
is the same. Second, the terminations arise from the same factual
scenario, in that all involved the termination of employees in
about February or early March of 2016 for the same reason—the
failure to sign newly implemented employment documents.
Third, the Respondent has asserted the same defenses for all four
alleged discriminatees, i.e., that their mere failure to sign the
documents caused their separation from employment. Factually,
DECISIONS OF THE NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD24
it is undisputed that all four alleged discriminatees failed or re-
fused to sign the documents. Therefore, I conclude that, pursuant
to Redd-I, above, the allegations are properly before me.
I agree with the General Counsel’s position that, pursuant to
Board precedent, the requirement that employees sign the Em-
ployment Agreement and the Contract and Receipt, which refer-
ences the Handbook was unlawful, in light of the multiple work
rules in these documents that violate Section 8(a)(1). Signing
these employment documents was clearly set forth as a condition
of employment. The Respondent’s arguments that it made clear
that employees could return to work if they signed the docu-
ments, and that it provided time for the employees to consider
whether they wished to sign the documents and to obtain legal
advice, merely confirm that the signing of the documents was a
condition of employment. The Respondent makes plain that the
sole reason these employees were separated from employment
was their failure to sign the documents. Because maintaining
these documents, including the Employment Agreement and the
Contract and Receipt, violated Section 8(a)(1), discharging the
employees for their failure to sign them also violated Section
8(a)(1). SF Markets 363 NLRB No. 146, slip op. at 2 (2016).
See also Denson Electric Co., 133 NLRB 122, 129, 131 (1961)
(employer cannot require employees to waive or relinquish their
Sec. 7 rights as a condition of employment or a condition of re-
instatement, and discharge for failure to relinquish Sec. 7 rights
violates the Act); and Kolkka Tables & Finnish-American Sau-
nas, 335 NLRB 844, 849 (2001) (employer’s suspension of an
employee who refused to order that violated Sec. 8(a)(1) also vi-
olated Sec. 8(a)(1)).
The Respondent’s additional defenses are unpersuasive. The
Respondent’s suggestion that the subjective intent of employees
in refusing to sign the employment documents is a factor is not
supported by Board precedent. It was the Respondent’s require-
ment that they sign the unlawful documents that caused their dis-
charges to be unlawful, not the employees’ reasons for not sign-
ing them. Nor does the General Counsel need to establish that
employees engaged in protected concerted activity in order to
establish this violation of Section 8(a)(1). The General Counsel’s
theory of the case does not rely on a showing of unlawful dis-
crimination against employees, but the maintenance of unlawful
rules and the subsequent unlawful enforcement of a condition of
employment that required employees to sign the employment
documents agreeing to the unlawful rules. The Respondent’s
suggestions that the terminations were not unlawful because the
employees failed to advise or engage in discussions with the Re-
spondent about their reasons for not signing the employment
documents is simply misplaced—contrary to the Respondent’s
arguments, which rely on precedent pursuant to Section 8(a)(5)
of the Act, individual employees have no statutory obligation to
bargain in good faith with employers pursuant to any Section of
the Act.
CONCLUSIONS OF LAW
1. The Respondent is an employer engaged in commerce
within the meaning of Section 2(2), (6), and (7) of the Act.
2. The Respondent has violated Section 8(a)(1) of the Act by
maintaining work rules that would reasonably tend to chill em-
ployees in the exercise of their Section 7 rights either by
expressly prohibiting or restraining the exercise of NLRA rights,
or by potentially impacting the exercise of those rights and the
justifications for the work rules do not outweigh the potential
impact on Section 7 rights; specifically, the Respondent has been
violating the Act by maintaining the following rule provisions in
its Employment Agreement, Contract and Receipt, Employee
Handbook, and Updated Handbook:
(a) Work rules that interfere with, coerce or restrain employ-
ees’ rights to file charges with the Board, to participate in Board
processes, or to access the Board’s processes, as described in the
mandatory arbitration provisions of the Employment Agree-
ment, pars. 7, 10, and 12, and the Contract and Receipt;
(b) Work rules that interfere with, coerce or restrain employ-
ees’ exercise of rights protected by Section 7 of the Act by im-
posing substantial financial or legal risks to engaging in pro-
tected activities as described in the indemnity provisions of the
Employment Agreement, paragraphs 6, 7, and 8, and the Con-
tract and Receipt;
(c) Work rules that interfere with, coerce or restrain employ-
ees’ right to disclose and discuss information related to their
wages, and terms and conditions of employment, as described in
the confidentiality and nondisclosure provisions of the Employ-
ment Agreement, paragraphs 3(a), (b), (c), the Handbook’s and
Updated Handbook’s Forward, Nondisclosure, and Prohibited
Activities (Standards of Conduct) sections, and the Updated
Handbook’s Workplace Expectations section.
(d) Work rules that interfere with, coerce or restrain employ-
ees’ rights to engage in communication, solicitation, and associ-
ation with other employees, as described in the Employment
Agreement paragraphs (3)(f), (g), and (i), and the Handbook’s
and Updated Handbook’s, Prohibited Activities (Standards of
Conduct) section and the Updated Handbook’s Workplace Bul-
lying section.
(e) work rules that interfere with, coerce or restrain employ-
ees’ rights to engage in communications and associations with
customers and the public, as described in the Employment
Agreement at paragraphs. 3(l) and (m), the Handbook’s and Up-
dated Handbook’s Prohibited Activities (Standards of Conduct)
section.
(f) work rules that interfere with, coerce or restrain employ-
ees’ right to use the Respondent’s email system for protected
communications, as described in the Employee Handbook’s and
Updated Handbook’s Internet Etiquette section.
(g) work rules that interfere with, coerce or restrain employ-
ees’ right to communication in social media with other employ-
ees, government officials, or the public regarding protected sub-
jects, such as wages and terms and conditions of employment as
described in the Updated Handbook’s section, “Social Media is
Unacceptable if it:” at par. 2.
(h) work rules that interfere with, coerce or restrain employ-
ees’ right to engage in protected concerted activities by requiring
honesty and to refrain from actions detrimental to employer’s
goals, as described in the Updated Handbook’s, Ten Command-
ments of Motor City Pawn section.
3. The Respondent has violated Section 8(a)(1) by discharg-
ing employees Terrence Walker, Patricia Tilmon, Gianluca Bar-
tolucci and Ringo Salzar because they failed and refused to sign
employment documents that contained unlawful rules.
MOTOR CITY PAWN BROKERS INC. 25
4. The above unfair labor practices affect commerce within
the meaning of Section 2(6) and (7) of the Act.
5. The Respondent did not violate the Act in any other manner
alleged in the complaint.
REMEDY
Having found that the Respondent has engaged in certain un-
fair labor practices, I shall order it to cease and desist therefrom
and to take certain affirmative action designed to effectuate the
policies of the Act. Having found that the Respondent maintains
unlawful rules in its Employment Agreement, Contract and Re-
ceipt, Employee Handbook, and Updated Handbook, the Re-
spondent is required to revise or rescind the unlawful rules in all
forms. This is the standard remedy to assure that employees may
engage in protected activity without fear of being subjected to an
unlawful rule. See Guardsmark, LLC, 344 NLRB 809, 812
(2005), enfd. in relevant part 475 F.3d 369 (D.C. Cir. 2007). As
stated there, the Respondent may comply with the order of re-
scission by reprinting the Employment Agreement, Contract and
Receipt, Handbook, and Updated Handbook without the unlaw-
ful language or, in order to save the expense of reprinting the
documents, it may supply its employees inserts stating that the
unlawful rules have been rescinded or with lawfully worded
rules on adhesive backing that will correct or cover the unlaw-
fully broad rules, until it republishes documents without the un-
lawful provisions. Any copies that include the unlawful rules
must include the inserts before being distributed to employees.
Id. at 812 fn. 8. See also Hills & Dales General Hospital, 360
NLRB 611, 613 (2014) and Rio All-Suites Hotel, 362 NLRB
1690, 1695 (2015).
The Respondent, having unlawfully discharged Terrence
Walker, Patricia Tilmon, Gianluca Bartolucci, and Ringo Salzar,
must offer them reinstatement and make them whole for any loss
of earnings and other benefits. Backpay shall be computed in ac-
cordance with F. W. Woolworth Co., 90 NLRB 289 (1950), with
interest at the rate prescribed in New Horizons, 283 NLRB 1173
(1987), compounded daily as prescribed in Kentucky River Med-
ical Center, 356 NLRB 6 (2010). Respondent shall compensate
them for his search-for-work and interim employment expenses
regardless of whether those expenses exceed his interim earn-
ings, computed as described above. Respondent shall file a report
with the Regional Director for Region 7 allocating backpay to
the appropriate calendar quarters. Respondent shall also com-
pensate Terrence Walker, Patricia Tilmon, Gianluca Bartolucci,
and Ringo Salzar for the adverse tax consequences, if any, of
receiving one or more lump-sum backpay awards covering peri-
ods longer than 1 year, AdvoServ of New Jersey, 363 NLRB No.
143 (2016).
I shall also order that the Respondent post the attached notice
as indicated in the order and to mail copies of the attached notice
to employees who have separated from employment with the Re-
spondent since the date of the issuance of the employment doc-
uments, February 1, 2016. I include this specialized notice mail-
ing remedy in consideration that some of the unlawful work rules
are found in agreements employees were required to sign as a
13 If no exceptions are filed as provided by Sec. 102.46 of the Board’s
Rules and Regulations, the findings, conclusions, and recommended
condition of employment, and these agreements appear to have
obligations and risks that extend beyond the termination of em-
ployment.
I decline to order consequential damages, as requested by the
General Counsel, as the Board has not authorized the award of
consequential damages. See, e.g., Guy Brewer 43 Inc., 363
NLRB No. 173, slip op. at 2 fn. 2 (2016).
On these findings of fact and conclusions of law and on the
entire record, I issue the following recommended13
ORDER
The Respondent, Motor City Pawn Brokers Inc., The Aubrey
Group Inc., and Aubrey Brothers, LLC, a single employer, its
officers, agents, successors, and assigns, shall
1. Cease and desist from
(a). The Respondent has violated Section 8(a)(1) of the Act
by maintaining work rules that would reasonably tend to chill
employees in the exercise of their Section 7 rights either by ex-
pressly prohibiting or restraining the exercise of NLRA rights,
or by potentially impacting the exercise of those rights and the
justifications for the work rules do not outweigh the potential
impact on Section 7 rights; specifically, the Respondent shall
cease and desist from violating the Act by maintaining the fol-
lowing rule provisions in its Employment Agreement, Contract
and Receipt, Handbook, and Updated Handbook:
(i) Work rules that interfere with, coerce or restrain employ-
ees’ rights to file charges with the Board, to participate in Board
processes, or to access the Board’s processes, as described in the
mandatory arbitration provisions of the Employment Agree-
ment, paragraphs 7, 10, and 12, and the Contract and Receipt;
(ii) Work rules that interfere with, coerce or restrain employ-
ees’ exercise of rights protected by Section 7 of the Act by im-
posing substantial financial or legal risks to engaging in pro-
tected activities as described in the indemnity provisions of the
Employment Agreement, paragraphs 6, 7, and 8, and the Con-
tract and Receipt;
(iii) Work rules that interfere with, coerce, or restrain employ-
ees’ right to disclose and discuss information related to their
wages, and terms and conditions of employment, as described in
the confidentiality and nondisclosure provisions of the Employ-
ment Agreement, paragraphs 3(a), (b), (c), the Handbook and
Updated Handbook’s Forward, Nondisclosure, and Prohibited
Activities (Standards of Conduct) sections, and the Updated
Handbook’s Workplace Expectations section.
(iv) Work rules that interfere with, coerce or restrain employ-
ees’ rights to engage in communication, solicitation, and associ-
ation with other employees, as described in the Employment
Agreement paragraphs (3)(f), (g), and (i), and the Employee
Handbook’s and Updated Handbook’s Prohibited Activities
(Standards of Conduct) section and the Updated Handbook’s
Workplace Bullying section.
(v) Work rules that interfere with, coerce or restrain employ-
ees’ rights to engage in communications and associations with
customers and the public, as described in the Employment
Agreement at paragraphs 3(l) and (m), the Handbook’s and
Order shall, as provided in Sec. 102.48 of the Rules, be adopted by the
Board and all objections to them shall be deemed waived for all purposes.
DECISIONS OF THE NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD26
Updated Handbook’s Prohibited Activities Prohibited Activities
(Standards of Conduct) section.
(vi) Work rules that interfere with, coerce or restrain employ-
ees’ rights to use the Respondent’s email system for protected
communications, as described in the Employee Handbook’s and
Updated Handbook’s Internet Etiquette section.
(vii) Work rules that interfere with, coerce or restrain employ-
ees’ rights to communication in social media with other employ-
ees, government officials, or the public regarding protected sub-
jects, such as wages and terms and conditions of employment as
described in the Updated Handbook’s section, “Social Media is
Unacceptable if it:” at par. 2.
(viii) Work rules that interfere with, coerce or restrain em-
ployees’ rights to engage in protected concerted activities by re-
quiring honesty and to refrain from actions detrimental to em-
ployer’s goals, as described in the Updated Handbook’s, Ten
Commandments of Motor City Pawn section.
(b) Discharging employees because they fail or refuse to sign
employment documents that contain unlawful work rules.
(c) In any like or related manner interfering with, coercing, or
restraining employees in the exercise of the rights guaranteed
them by the Act.
2. Take the following affirmative action necessary to effectu-
ate the policies of the Act.
(a) Rescind the work rule provisions set forth in paragraph
1(a), above, or revise them to remove any language that prohibits
or restrains the exercise of Section 7 rights, or that potentially
impacts Section 7 rights and about which the rule’s justifications
do not outweigh the rule’s impact on Section 7 rights.
(b) Notify all employees that the above rules have been re-
scinded or, if they have been revised, provide them a copy of the
revised rules.
(c) Within 14 days from the date of the Board's Order, offer
Terrence Walker, Patricia Tilmon, Gianluca Bartolucci, and
Ringo Salzar full reinstatement to their former jobs or, if that job
no longer exists, to a substantially equivalent position, without
prejudice to their seniority or any other rights or privileges pre-
viously enjoyed.
(d) Make Terrence Walker, Patricia Tilmon, Gianluca Barto-
lucci, and Ringo Salzar whole for any loss of earnings and other
benefits suffered as a result of the unlawful termination, in the
manner set forth in the remedy section of the decision.
(e) Compensate Terrence Walker, Patricia Tilmon, Gianluca
Bartolucci, and Ringo Salzar for the adverse tax consequences,
if any, of receiving a lump-sum backpay award, and file with the
Regional Director for Region 7, within 21 days of the date the
amount of backpay is fixed, either by agreement or Board order,
a report allocating the backpay award to the appropriate calendar
years.
(f) Compensate Terrence Walker, Patricia Tilmon, Gianluca
Bartolucci, and Ringo Salzar for their search-for-work and in-
terim employment expenses regardless of whether those ex-
penses exceed their interim earnings.
(g) Within 14 days from the date of the Board's Order, remove
14 If this Order is enforced by a judgment of a United States court of
appeals, the words in the notice reading “Posted by Order of the National
Labor Relations Board” shall read “Posted Pursuant to a Judgment of the
from its files any reference to the unlawful discharges and within
3 days thereafter notify Terrence Walker, Patricia Tilmon,
Gianluca Bartolucci, and Ringo Salzar in writing that this has
been done and that their discharges will not be used against them
in any way.
(h) Preserve and, within 14 days of a request, or such addi-
tional time as the Regional Director may allow for good cause
shown, provide at a reasonable place designated by the Board or
its agents, all payroll records, social security payment records,
timecards, personnel records and reports, and all other records,
including an electronic copy of such records if stored in elec-
tronic form, necessary to analyze the amount of backpay due un-
der the terms of this Order.
(i) Within 14 days after service by the Region, post at its De-
troit, Warren, Ferndale, and Roseville Michigan facilities copies
of the attached notice marked “Appendix.”14 Copies of the no-
tice, on forms provided by the Regional Director for Region 7,
after being signed by the Respondent's authorized representative,
shall be posted by the Respondent and maintained for 60 consec-
utive days in conspicuous places including all places where no-
tices to employees are customarily posted. In addition to physical
posting of paper notices, the notices shall be distributed electron-
ically, such as by email, posting on an intranet or an internet site,
and/or other electronic means, if the Respondent customarily
communicates with its employees by such means. Reasonable
steps shall be taken by the Respondent to ensure that the notices
are not altered, defaced, or covered by any other material. The
Respondent shall duplicate and mail, at its own expense, a copy
of the notice to all former employees employed by the Respond-
ent at any time since February 1, 2016. In the event that, during
the pendency of these proceedings, the Respondent has gone out
of business or closed the facilities involved in these proceedings,
the Respondent shall duplicate and mail, at its own expense, a
copy of the notice to all current and former employees employed
by the Respondent at any time since February 1, 2016.
(j) Within 21 days after service by the Region, file with the
Regional Director a sworn certification of a responsible official
on a form provided by the Region attesting to the steps that the
Respondent has taken to comply.
Dated at Washington, D.C., October 22, 2018
APPENDIX
NOTICE TO EMPLOYEES
POSTED BY ORDER OF THE
NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
An Agency of the United States Government
The National Labor Relations Board has found that we violated
Federal labor law and has ordered us to post and obey this no-
tice.
FEDERAL LAW GIVES YOU THE RIGHT TO
Form, join, or assist a union
Choose representatives to bargain with us on your be-
half
United States Court of Appeals Enforcing an Order of the National Labor
Relations Board.”
MOTOR CITY PAWN BROKERS INC. 27
Act together with other employees for your benefit and
protection
Choose not to engage in any of these protected activi-
ties.
WE WILL NOT maintain work rules that would reasonably tend
to chill employees in the exercise of their Section 7 rights either
by expressly prohibiting or restraining the exercise of NLRA
rights, or by potentially impacting the exercise of those rights
and the justifications for the work rules do not outweigh the po-
tential impact on Section 7 rights; specifically, the Respondent
has been violating the Act by maintaining the following rule pro-
visions in its Employment Agreement, Contract and Receipt,
Employee Handbook, and Updated Handbook:
WE WILL NOT maintain work rules that interfere with, coerce
or restrain employees’ rights to file charges with the Board, to
participate in Board processes, or to access the Board’s pro-
cesses, as described in the mandatory arbitration provisions of
the Employment Agreement, paragraphs 7, 10, and 12, and the
Contract and Receipt;
WE WILL NOT maintain work rules that interfere with, coerce
or restrain employees’ exercise of rights protected by Section 7
of the Act by imposing substantial financial or legal risks to en-
gaging in protected activities as described in the indemnity pro-
visions of the Employment Agreement, pars 6, 7, and 8, and the
Contract and Receipt;
WE WILL NOT maintain work rules that interfere with, coerce
or restrain employees’ rights to disclose and discuss information
related to their wages, and terms and conditions of employment,
as described in the confidentiality and nondisclosure provisions
of the Employment Agreement, paragraphs 3(a), (b), (c), the Em-
ployee Handbook and Updated Handbook’s Forward, Nondis-
closure, and Prohibited Activities (Standards of Conduct) sec-
tions, and the Updated Handbook’s Workplace Expectations sec-
tion.
WE WILL NOT maintain work rules that interfere with, coerce
or restrain employees’ rights to engage in communication, solic-
itation, and association with other employees, as described in the
Employment Agreement pars (3)(f), (g), and (i), and the Em-
ployee Handbook and Updated Handbook, Prohibited Activities
(Standards of Conduct) section and the Updated Handbook
Workplace Bullying section.
WE WILL NOT maintain work rules that interfere with, coerce
or restrain employees’ rights to engage in communications and
associations with customers and the public, as described in the
Employment Agreement at pars. 3(l) and (m), the Employee
Handbook and Updated Handbook Prohibited Activities Prohib-
ited Activities (Standards of Conduct) section.
WE WILL NOT maintain work rules that interfere with, coerce
or restrain employees’ rights to use the Respondent’s email sys-
tem for protected communications, as described in the Employee
Handbook and Updated Handbook in the Internet Etiquette sec-
tion.
WE WILL NOT maintain work rules that interfere with, coerce
or restrain employees’ right to communication in social media
with other employees, government officials, or the public regard-
ing protected subjects, such as wages and terms and conditions
of employment as described in the Updated Handbook’s section,
“Social Media is Unacceptable if it:” at paragraph 2.
WE WILL NOT maintain work rules that interfere with, coerce
or restrain employees’ rights to engage in protected concerted
activities by requiring honesty and to refrain from actions detri-
mental to employer’s goals, as described in the Updated Hand-
book’s, Ten Commandments of Motor City Pawn section.
WE WILL NOT discharge employees because they fail or refuse
to sign employment documents that contain unlawful work rules.
WE WILL NOT in any like or related manner interfere with, co-
erce, or restrain employees in the exercise of the rights guaran-
teed them by the Act.
WE WILL take the following affirmative action necessary to
effectuate the policies of the Act.
WE WILL rescind the work rule provisions described above and
as set forth in paragraph 1(a), or revise them to remove any lan-
guage that prohibits or restrains the exercise of Section 7 rights,
or that potentially impacts Section 7 rights and about which the
rule’s justifications do not outweigh the rule’s impact on Section
7 rights.
WE WILL notify all employees that the above rules have been
rescinded or, if they have been revised, provide them a copy of
the revised rules.
WE WILL, within 14 days from the date of the Board’s Order,
offer Terrence Walker, Patricia Tilmon, Gianluca Bartolucci,
and Ringo Salzar full reinstatement to their former jobs or, if that
job no longer exists, to a substantially equivalent position, with-
out prejudice to their seniority or any other rights or privileges
previously enjoyed.
WE WILL make Terrence Walker, Patricia Tilmon, Gianluca
Bartolucci, and Ringo Salzar whole for any loss of earnings and
other benefits suffered as a result of the unlawful termination, in
the manner set forth in the remedy section of the decision.
WE WILL compensate Terrence Walker, Patricia Tilmon,
Gianluca Bartolucci, and Ringo Salzar for the adverse tax con-
sequences, if any, of receiving a lump-sum backpay award, and
file with the Regional Director for Region 7, within 21 days of
the date the amount of backpay is fixed, either by agreement or
Board order, a report allocating the backpay award to the appro-
priate calendar years.
WE WILL compensate Terrence Walker, Patricia Tilmon,
Gianluca Bartolucci, and Ringo Salzar for his search-for-work
and interim employment expenses regardless of whether those
expenses exceed their interim earnings.
WE WILL, within 14 days from the date of the Board's Order,
remove from its files any reference to the unlawful discharges
and within 3 days thereafter notify Terrence Walker, Patricia
Tilmon, Gianluca Bartolucci, and Ringo Salzar in writing that
this has been done and that the adverse evaluations and discharge
will not be used against them in any way.
WE WILL preserve and, within 14 days of a request, or such
additional time as the Regional Director may allow for good
cause shown, provide at a reasonable place designated by the
Board or its agents, all payroll records, social security payment
records, timecards, personnel records and reports, and all other
records, including an electronic copy of such records if stored in
electronic form, necessary to analyze the amount of backpay due
under the terms of this Order.
WE WILL, within 14 days after service by the Region, post at
DECISIONS OF THE NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD28
our Detroit, Warren, Ferndale, and Roseville Michigan facilities
copies of this Notice to Employees and maintained for 60 con-
secutive days in conspicuous places including all places where
notices to employees are customarily posted. In addition to phys-
ical posting of paper notices, the notices will be distributed elec-
tronically, such as by email, posting on an intranet or an internet
site, and/or other electronic means, if we customarily communi-
cate with its employees by such means.
WE WILL duplicate and mail, at our own expense, a copy of
the notice to all former employees employed by the Respondent
at any time since February 1, 2016. In the event that during the
pendency of these proceedings, we have gone out of business or
closed the facilities involved in these proceedings, WE WILL du-
plicate and mail, at our own expense, a copy of the notice to all
current employees and former employees at any time since Feb-
ruary 1, 2016.
MOTOR CITY PAWN BROKERS INC., THE AUBREY
GROUP INC., AND AUBREY BROTHERS LLC, A SINGLE
EMPLOYER
The Administrative Law Judge’s decision can be found at
www.nlrb.gov/case/07-CA-179461 or by using the QR code be-
low. Alternatively, you can obtain a copy of the decision from
the Executive Secretary, National Labor Relations Board, 1015
Half Street, S.E., Washington, D.C. 20570, or by calling (202)
273-1940.