Catherwood LibraryILR School

The National Labor Relations Board has ruled that employee advocacy on behalf of unpaid interns is not protected behavior as unpaid interns are not considered employees by the National Labor Relations Act. It also ruled that an employer's frustration with employees who had advocated for unpaid interns is not an implicit threat. The suit had been brought against Amnesty International earlier this year when a recorded conversation with the organization's executive director indicated that the organization was disappointed that a need for paid internships had not been discussed orally with management prior to an employee starting a petition advocating for paid internships, which had been signed by almost all employees. The NLRB reversed the initial finding by an administrative law judge that that executive director's comments were coercive. Unions have recently increased efforts to bolster the NLRA’s reach by organizing non-traditional workers, including temporary campaign workers and graduate students. The reversal continues a reluctance by the NLRB to impose obligations on employers outside the traditional employment context, including excluding paid undergraduate and graduate students from the NLRA.