Flex Frac Logistics, L.L.C. v. National Labor Relations Board, 2014 U.S. App. LEXIS 5429

Flex Frac Logistics, L.L.C. and Silver Eagle Logistics, L.L.C. are non-union trucking companies based in Fort Worth, Texas.
They require employees to sign a confidentiality clause covering confidential information, including costs and personnel information.
The clause prohibits sharing Confidential Information outside the organization or removing copies of records, with potential termination for violations.
In 2010 Kathy Lopez was fired and filed an NLRB charge alleging the rule prohibited discussing employee wages.
An ALJ found the clause violated §8(a)(1) for being overly broad and restricting §7 rights; the NLRB affirmed the ruling.
Flex Frac challenged the NLRB order in this petition for review; the court ultimately enforces the NLRB order.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Does the confidentiality rule violate §8(a)(1) by chilling §7 rights?	Flex Frac argues the clause is overly broad and restricts wage discussion.	NLRB contends the rule would reasonably chill §7 activity and is not allowed.	Yes; the rule violates §8(a)(1).

NLRB v. Brookshire Grocery Co., 919 F.2d 359 (5th Cir. 1990) (workplace rules that prohibit wage discussion infringe §8(a)(1))
Lutheran Heritage Village-Livonia, 343 N.L.R.B. 646 (NLRB 2004) (nonexplicit rules evaluated for impact on §7 rights)
Lafayette Park Hotel, 326 N.L.R.B. 824 (9th Cir. 1998) (chilling effect standard for workplace rules)
K-Mart Corp., 330 N.L.R.B. 263 (5th Cir. 1999) (rule similarity to Lafayette Park Hotel scrutinized)
Mediaone of Greater Fla., Inc., 340 N.L.R.B. 277 (NLRB 2003) (intellectual-property framing distinguished from wages)
Cintas Corp. v. NLRB, 482 F.3d 463 (D.C. Cir. 2007) (distinguishes scope of confidentiality vs. protected activity)
D.R. Horton, Inc. v. NLRB, 737 F.3d 344 (5th Cir. 2013) (jurisdictional/constitutional considerations in NLRB review)