Interrogation By: Christopher W. Kelleher, Esq.

Seyfarth Synopsis: The NLRB held that American Medical Response of Southern California (“AMR”) did not violate an employee’s rights during a police investigation of an EMT’s gun violence threat by not providing the EMT with a union representative.

In November 2015, an EMT working in San Bernardino County, CA learned that the Operations Manager planned to fire the EMT’s girlfriend. The EMT responded by telling his coworker, “if things go the way they are looking, I’ll come shoot everyone here.” Concerned, the coworker reported the EMT to management.   

In response, the Operations Manager drove to the nearby police department and asked an officer for guidance on how to handle the situation. The officer came to AMR’s facility, spoke with the EMT while the Operations Manager was present, and performed a threat assessment. Although the Operations Manager was present during the officer’s interview with the EMT, the Operations Manager did not ask any questions during the interview. The Company later decided to terminate the EMT’s employment.

The EMT filed an unfair labor practice charge alleging that AMR had refused his requests for union representation during the interview. Under NLRB v. J. Weingarten, Inc., 420 U.S. 251, 256 (1975), an employee represented by a union has the right to request that a union representative be present during an investigatory interview which the employee reasonably believes could result in disciplinary action. In order to invoke this right, the employee must make a request for union representation. It is not the employer’s responsibility to inform the employee of his Weingarten rights.

Contrary to the EMT’s assertions, the administrative law judge (“ALJ”) found that the EMT did not request union representation, and thus, was not entitled to union representation. The ALJ’s findings were based in part on not crediting the EMT’s testimony. In making this finding, the ALJ noted some inconsistencies in his story. The ALJ also noted that on several occasions in the past, the EMT had requested and had been given union representation. Furthermore, the ALJ found that because the EMT demonstrated a thorough knowledge of his Weingarten rights, it did not make sense that he waited to complain about not receiving union representation until three months after the interview — when he filed his charge.

Notably, the ALJ also found that the EMT was not entitled to union representation because the interview was not an “investigative interview” for which the Weingarten rights applied. Rather, the interview was a police interrogation. Therefore, the EMT’s Weingarten rights did not apply.  Thus, not every meeting with employees constitutes an investigative interview under Weingarten, and even if an investigative interview does take place, the employee must actually request union representation to invoke his Weingarten rights.