Thursday, April 15, 2021 On March 31, 2021, National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) Acting General Counsel Peter Sung Ohr issued a memorandum stating his office will return to “vigorous enforcement” of employee rights under Section 7 rights of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). Ohr encouraged a broader view of Section 7’s protections to cover a wide range of conduct, including “employees’ political and social justice advocacy when the subject matter has a direct nexus to employees’ ‘interests as employees.’” The memorandum provided examples of conduct the acting general counsel believes falls within this protected area of workplace “political or social justice advocacy,” such as media interviews regarding living on minimum wage, an employee’s “solo” strike to join a demonstration advocating for a $15-per-hour minimum wage, and protests over workplace immigration raids by the government. Ohr said, “[E]mployee activity regarding a variety of societal issues will be reviewed to determine if those actions constitute mutual aid or protections under Section 7 of the Act.” As a result, although private sector employees generally do not have free speech protections in the workplace, employers must be mindful that an incoming NLRB may view political expression as protected under Section 7 of the NLRA.