Dollar General Illegally Silences Staff Online, Teamsters Claim

(Bloomberg) -- Dollar General Corp. “sabotaged” employees' rights to communicate about workplace issues, the Teamsters union alleged in a federal complaint targeting the retailer's social media policies.

The union's complaint, filed Tuesday with the National Labor Relations Board, accuses Dollar General of violating the 1935 law that establishes workers' rights to organize and protest working conditions. That law has been interpreted in recent years to cover communications between co-workers using platforms like Facebook. 

The complaint targets social media rules in Dollar General's orientation materials that prohibit sharing any “non-public” information, which could include issues such as wages and working conditions, according to a memo the union's attorney David Rosenfeld sent to the board.

The NLRB separately announced Thursday that it would consider overturning a Trump-era precedent regarding when workplace policies violate employees' rights, signaling the Democrats who now make up the majority of the board are likely to establish a new standard leaving less leeway for employers.

Dollar General, which has repeatedly resisted organizing efforts, didn't immediately respond to a request for comment. The union was defeated in an election last month among the company's warehouse employees in West Sacramento, California.

©2022 Bloomberg L.P.