NLRB: Menards violating labor laws

A regional office of the National Labor Relations Board determined that Menards, the home improvement retailer based in Eau Claire, is violating federal labor laws because it has been improperly requiring employees to sign mandatory arbitration agreements, among other practices.

A lawsuit was filed by the Office and Professional Employees International Union in New York after a report in The Progressive magazine revealed that Menards’ managers were told their income would automatically be reduced by 60% if a union won an election on their premises. Reportedly, Menards has since eliminated that policy, but the NLRB maintains other existing practices must also be changed, such as the one mandating the arbitration agreements.

The NLRB’s decisions are not final, but if Menards does not change the policies in question, the NLRB could file a formal complaint.

The decision could affect as many as 46,000 employees across 14 states.