Workplace rules that prohibited off-duty employee access to interior areas of a hotel employer or to hotel property without managerial approval, and employee use of various guest and resident owner facilities without managerial approval was deemed to be unlawful by the National Labor Relations Board in a 2-1 decision.

The Board majority says a rule restricting off-duty employee access is valid only if it (1) limits access solely with respect to the interior of the plant and other working areas; (2) is clearly disseminated to all employees; and (3) applies to off-duty employees seeking access to the plant for any purpose and not just to those employees engaging in union activity. In the hotel’s case, its rule prohibited off-duty employee access except “in certain unspecified circumstances subject to a manager’s ‘prior approval,’ giving the Respondent broad – indeed, unlimited – discretion ‘to decide when and why employees may access the facility,’” the Board majority observes.

The disputed rule did not define, describe, or limit in any way the “circumstances” under which access would or would not be granted, the Board majority says, and the rule further requires employees to secure managerial approval, giving managers absolute discretion to grant or deny access for any reason, including to discriminate against or discourage protected concerted activities under the National Labor Relations Act. Marriott International Inc. and Unite Here!