Getting it "right"

Abstract

This article considers the circumstances surrounding questioning of employees who are not represented by a union. Employers’ investigatory interviews of unrepresented employees that can lead to disciplinary actions are in question to the extent that the employee requests the presence of a co-worker during the interview and such request is denied by the employer. Where over 90% of employees are unrepresented by a union in the United States, this issue clearly is of urgent importance to most workers. Courts have imposed limits on employees in this regard, although the case law is in a state of flux, leaving employers on notice that they should carefully consider accommodating an employee’s request for the presence of a co-worker during an investigatory interview.