Captive Audience Meetings Under Increasing Regulation

Abstract

A captive audience speech has been a staple of union campaigns. Conducted on paid time, with required attendance, such meetings have traditionally been a superior means for management to communicate messages en masse to its workers. The tool, however, has been the subject of increasing attention by the General Counsel of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), who has communicated her interest in prohibiting such conduct. It has also been the subject of state regulation. California recently joined the ranks of Oregon, Washington, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Vermont, and Maine to prohibit employers from conducting captive audience meetings.