NLRB rules on off-duty access policy

A hospital policy limiting access of off-duty employees to the facility violated the National Labor Relations Act, the National Labor Relations Board ruled July 3. At issue in the case (Sodexo America LLC) was a provision of USC University Hospital's no-access policy which states, "Off-duty employees are not allowed to enter or re-enter the interior of the hospital or any other work area outside the hospital except to conduct hospital-related business." The policy defined "hospital-related business" as "the pursuit of the employee's normal duties or duties as specifically directed by management." The Board states, "because this policy allows [the employer] unlimited discretion to decide when and why employees may access the facility, we find [that the] no-access policy violates Section 8(a)(1) [of the Act] because it does not uniformly prohibit access to off-duty employees seeking entry to the property for any purpose.'"

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