What to Do When the Boss Calls You In

Supervisors and managers have every right to communicate with their employees, but when it comes to questioning which could result in discipline, the employee has rights as well.

Under the 1975 U.S. Supreme Court ruling NLRB vs. Weingarten, an employee who has a reasonable belief that a supervisor's question could result in discipline has the right to request union representation. This right applies only in investigatory interviews, not in regular or routine discussions about work performance or job assignments. Nor does it apply if you are called in to be handed notice that discipline has been imposed. That's not an investigation, that's a done deal!

If you are in a meeting with a supervisor during which you are being asked for information, or pressed to discuss an event or incident which you believe could result in discipline, you must make a clear request for union representation. You cannot be retaliated against or punished for making this request.

After you have made the request, the supervisor must either

If the employer denies the request for union representation and continues to ask questions, it commits an unfair labor practice, a violation of federal law. Immediately inform a steward after such a meeting.

The supervisor cannot choose your steward for you. The steward, upon arrival, must be informed of the subject matter of the interview (for example, the type of misconduct being investigated). The steward is allowed to speak during the interview, and can request clarification of a question and advise the employee on how to answer. The steward can provide additional information to the supervisor after the questioning ends.

The presence of a steward in an investigatory interview provides representation to the employee, a witness to the discussion, and a protection against intimidating actions to which some supervisors may be prone.