Last week, the National Labor Relations Board overturned a 2020 decision involving General Motors that had made it easier for employers to discipline employees who make profane statements in the middle of a work-related conflict. 

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The latest ruling, which involves a Texas-based rubber manufacturer, sides with the decades of precedent prior to the GM ruling which looks at these disputes on a case-by-case basis and takes into account the context and protected nature of an employees right to advocate for improved working conditions when evaluating the appropriateness of arguably profane behavior or speech.

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Accordingly, the board has reinstated the decades-old ‘setting specific’ test to determine if any abusive commentary or action is protected by federal labor law.

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You can read more about that ruling and newly reinstated standards here.