David B. Kern quoted in article "Labor & Employment Digest: March 2015”

Below is an excerpt:

NLRB allows employee use of employer email systems

The NLRB's decision in Purple Communications grants employees access to their employer's email systems on non-work time, even if all personal use is now prohibited, so long as employees regularly use the system for their work. The board's decision is unprecedented in terms of expanding employee use of employer equipment for union organizing and similar purposes. The decision will likely open a floodgate of disruptive workplace activity, because employer rights protected under the National Labor Relations Act are so broadly defined to include virtually any discussion relating to wages, benefits and working conditions. The board's distinctions between working and non-working time use will be largely unworkable. Employers who currently ban all personal use of their email systems will be required to modify their policies to comply with this decision.

—David B. Kern, partner (Milwaukee), Quarles & Brady LLP

Originally published in InsideCounsel, March 1, 2015