EMPLOYEE'S RIGHT TO UNION REPRESENTATION

In a 1975 case (NLRB vs. Weingarten, Inc., 420 U.S. 251, 88 LRRM 2689), the U.S. Supreme Court announced the rights of unionized employees to have a union representative present during investigatory interviews. These rights have become known as the Weingarten rights.  Employees have Weingarten rights only during investigatory interviews. An investigatory interview occurs when a supervisor questions an employee to obtain information which could be used as a basis for discipline or asks an employee to defend his or her conduct. If an employee has a reasonable belief that discipline or other adverse consequences may result from what he or she says, the employee has the right to request union representation.

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