Here are some scenarios to look out for:

-If you are called into a management’s office and there are other department heads there such as someone from Human Resources, the Legal department, etc., you may want to invoke your Weingarten rights

-If during the course a meeting, management starts asking for facts or “your side of the story,” you may want to invoke your Weingarten rights

-If the purpose of the meeting or interview with management is to investigate an employee’s allegedly inadequate work performance or other misconduct, you may want to invoke your Weingarten rights

REMEMBER: YOU CAN ASK FOR A UNION REP AT ANY TIME DURING THE MEETING.

WEINGARTEN RULES:

Under the Supreme Court’s Weingarten decision, when an investigatory interview occurs, the following rules apply:

RULE 1
The employee must make a clear request for union representation before or during the interview. The employee cannot be punished for making this request. (Our contract goes farther than this as management, under our contract must offer union representation if a discussion could lead to discipline.)

RULE 2

After the employee makes the request, the employer must choose from among three options. The employer must:
Grant the request and delay questioning until the union representative arrives and has a chance to consult privately with the employee; or

Deny the request and end the interview immediately; or
Give the employee a choice of:
(1) having the interview without representation or
(2) ending the interview.

RULE 3

If management denies the request for union representation and continues to ask questions, that’s an unfair labor practice and the employee has the right to refuse to answer. Management cannot discipline the employee for such a refusal.