Biden admin bans employers from discussing unionization with 'captive audience' employees

The Biden administration's National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) issued an opinion on Wednesday that bars businesses from expressing their views on unionization to a "captive audience" of employees.

The ruling came in response to a series of labor complaints issued against Amazon over mandatory meetings during which representatives of the company allegedly urged employees to reject unionization. According to the board, such meetings violate the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), which was passed in 1935 to protect workers' ability to organize. 

The NLRB, an independent federal agency with leaders who were appointed by President Biden, articulated multiple reasons for why they believe "captive audience" meetings violate the law.

The ruling did leave employers the right to engage in voluntary meetings that express their views on unionization.

"The majority's attempt to ban so-called 'captive-audience speeches' harkens back to an earlier era when the Board sought to impose on employers a policy of strict neutrality regarding unionization," Kaplan also wrote. 

Neither the NLRB nor Amazon responded to inquiries from Fox News Digital in time for publication.