Turner Padget Insights

Protected, Concerted Activity: What Employers Need to Know About Employees' Rights

Posted On September 23, 2026

For employers and HR professionals, employee complaints about pay, scheduling, workplace safety or other working conditions can be difficult to navigate. But when employees raise these concerns together—or even when one employee raises an issue on behalf of others—the National Labor Relations Act may provide important protections.

Importantly, these protections apply to most private-sector employees whether or not the workplace is unionized.

Understanding when employee conduct is considered “protected, concerted activity” can help employers respond appropriately and avoid costly unfair labor practice charges.

What Is Protected, Concerted Activity?

Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) protects employees’ rights to act together for their mutual aid or protection, including efforts to improve wages, benefits and other terms and conditions of employment.

The term “concerted” generally means that employees are acting together, with the authority of other employees, or seeking to initiate or prepare for group action. It does not necessarily require that several employees participate at the same time.

For example, protected concerted activity can include employees:

• Discussing wages, benefits or working conditions with one another;
• Raising concerns about workplace safety;
• Circulating a petition seeking changes to working conditions;
• Approaching management as a group about workplace concerns;
• Speaking to management on behalf of coworkers;
• Seeking support from a government agency regarding workplace issues; or
• Using social media to discuss workplace concerns with coworkers or encourage group action.

The important point for employers is that protected concerted activity does not have to involve a union.

An employee who complains about a workplace issue may be doing more than simply expressing a personal grievance. If the employee is raising the concern on behalf of coworkers, attempting to initiate group action or bringing a group complaint to management, the activity may be protected under the NLRA.

What Does “Protected” Mean?

When activity is protected by the NLRA, employers generally cannot discharge, discipline, threaten or otherwise retaliate against employees because they engaged in that protected activity.

Employers also need to be careful about policies and workplace rules that could reasonably discourage employees from exercising their rights. The NLRB has recognized that an employer policy can create legal problems even when the employer does not actually enforce it if the policy could reasonably tend to interfere with employees’ protected rights.

That makes employee handbooks, social media policies, confidentiality provisions and other workplace policies particularly important areas for employers to review.

Where Employers Can Get Into Trouble

One of the biggest challenges is that an otherwise legitimate workplace rule or disciplinary decision can become problematic depending on why and how it is applied.

Consider a few common situations:

An employee complains about pay.
An employee raises concerns with coworkers about what employees are being paid and suggests that everyone should ask management for a review. That may constitute protected concerted activity.

Employees raise a safety concern.
Several employees discuss unsafe working conditions and approach a supervisor together. Their conduct may be protected even if no union is involved.

An employee posts about workplace conditions on social media.
An employee discusses wages, scheduling or other working conditions online and encourages coworkers to join the conversation. Social media activity can qualify as protected concerted activity.

An employee raises a complaint on behalf of coworkers.
Even though only one employee speaks directly with management, the employee may be protected if they are bringing a group complaint to the employer or seeking to initiate group action.

These situations can be especially challenging because an employer may have a legitimate reason to address an employee's conduct—but the employer must be careful not to take action because the employee exercised protected rights.

What About Employee Misconduct?

Protected activity does not give employees unlimited freedom to engage in misconduct.

The NLRB recognizes that employees can lose the protection of the Act in certain circumstances, including conduct that is egregiously offensive or knowingly and maliciously false.

That does not mean, however, that an employer should immediately discipline an employee simply because a complaint is angry, critical or uncomfortable.

Before taking action, employers should consider:

• What exactly did the employee say or do?
• Was the employee speaking only for themselves, or on behalf of others?
• Were coworkers involved?
• Was the employee attempting to initiate or encourage group action?
• Does the complaint concern wages, benefits or working conditions?
• Is the proposed discipline consistent with how similar conduct has been handled in the past?
• Could the discipline be viewed as retaliation for protected activity?

When the answers are unclear, consulting experienced employment counsel before taking disciplinary action can help reduce risk.

Policies Matter, Too

Employee handbooks and workplace policies should also be reviewed with Section 7 rights in mind. Policies addressing topics such as those listed below can potentially implicate employees’ protected rights depending on how they are written and applied.

• Confidentiality;
• Social media;
• Workplace communications;
• Employee conduct;
• Respectful or professional behavior;
• Solicitation and distribution; and
• Communications with the media

For example, employers generally may establish legitimate workplace rules, but the NLRB cautions that employers may not maintain rules that reasonably tend to inhibit employees from exercising their rights under the NLRA. Employers may also restrict the use of company communication systems, but cannot discriminate against protected communications when doing so.

A policy that seems straightforward from an employer’s perspective may therefore benefit from an employment-law review.

Best Practices for Employers and HR Professionals

Employers do not need to avoid addressing employee misconduct or workplace complaints. Instead, they should build processes that help managers and HR professionals recognize when NLRA rights may be involved.

1. Train managers to recognize protected activity

Front-line supervisors are often the first people to hear employee complaints. They should understand that a complaint about pay, scheduling, safety or other working conditions may involve protected rights.

2. Avoid reacting impulsively

When an employee makes a public or highly critical complaint, an immediate disciplinary response may create unnecessary risk. HR should pause and determine whether the conduct could be protected before taking action.

3. Review policies regularly

Employment laws and NLRB interpretations change. Employers should periodically review handbooks and workplace policies to identify language that could unnecessarily restrict employees' rights.

4. Apply policies consistently

If an employee is disciplined after raising a workplace concern, employers should be prepared to demonstrate that the decision was based on a legitimate, consistently applied rule—not the employee's protected activity.

5. Document legitimate business reasons

Good documentation can be particularly important when disciplinary action follows an employee complaint. Documentation should clearly establish the legitimate reason for the employment decision and be consistent with how comparable situations have been handled.

6. Involve HR and counsel early

When a complaint involves multiple employees, wages, working conditions, workplace safety, social media or potential retaliation, involving experienced HR professionals and employment counsel early can help employers avoid turning a manageable workplace issue into an unfair labor practice charge.

The Bottom Line

Protected concerted activity is not limited to unionized workplaces. Most private-sector employees have rights under the NLRA to act together—or, in certain circumstances, act on behalf of coworkers—to address workplace concerns.

For employers, the challenge is recognizing when those rights may be implicated and responding without inadvertently interfering with them.

A thoughtful approach—supported by manager training, regularly reviewed policies, consistent discipline and early legal guidance—can help employers address legitimate workplace concerns while reducing the risk of costly unfair labor practice charges.

About Reggie Belcher

Reggie Belcher is a shareholder at Turner Padget and is certified as a Specialist in Employment and Labor Law by the South Carolina Supreme Court. He serves as Practice Group Manager for the firm’s Workplace Litigation Team and represents employers and management in employment litigation, traditional labor matters, workplace investigations, HR compliance, restrictive covenants and other employment-related issues. He also leads Turner Padget’s statewide professional licensing team, representing professionals in disciplinary matters before South Carolina licensing boards. Reggie regularly speaks at industry conferences and events, including the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) across South Carolina. Reach out to Reggie at Rbelcher@turnerpadget.com.