Three federal labor agencies, the Department of Labor, the National Labor Relations Board and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission announced Wednesday a joint initiative to address retaliation against workers who speak out about violations to their rights as workers, according to a news release.
"A new joint initiative with @NLRB and @USEEOC will help raise awareness about retaliation issues when workers exercise their protected labor rights:" the U.S. Department of Labor wrote in a Nov. 10 Twitter post.
These agencies will work in collaboration to establish protections for workers against unlawful retaliatory conduct. The agencies will build on the work of memoranda of understandings between the agencies to strengthen relationships between the departments to more effectively protect workers' rights and enforce labor laws.
"The enforcement of labor laws only works when workers who speak out for themselves and their fellow workers and not fear or suffer from retaliation," said Solicitor of Labor Seema Nanda, according to the news release. "In the U.S. Department of Labor’s fight against wage theft, misclassification, discrimination, unsafe or unhealthy workplaces and other unlawful employment practices, we will use all tools available to protect workers from retaliation. This collaboration among federal labor enforcement agencies will form a bulwark against unlawful retaliation."
In the coming year, the initiative is set to educate the public as well as engage with employers and businesses in order to reduce retaliatory practices.
"All too often workers face adverse action for speaking out about their pay, health and safety issues, discrimination or other working conditions," said NLRB general counsel Jennifer Abruzzo, according to the news release. "Under the National Labor Relations Act, it is unlawful for employers to retaliate against workers for taking collective action to improve their working conditions. These issues cut across multiple worker protection agencies, which is why it is so important to work collaboratively to effectively prevent and forcefully address retaliatory acts against workers."
On Nov. 17, the initiative will work to enact a virtual dialogue with members of the employer community, which will focus on the importance of protecting workers against retaliation.
