Protected concerted activity

Protected concerted activity is a term of art in United States labor law that refers to the actions employees take to improve their working conditions that are protected from employer interference or retaliation under the National Labor Relations Act.^[1] These rights are found in "Section 7" (29 U.S.C. §157) of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA, or the Act), and are often referred to as Section 7 protections.^[2]

Generally speaking, there is protected concerted activity when two or more employees act together to improve the terms and conditions of their employment. Employees actions can be found to be protected and concerted even where there is no unionizing activity or union involved.^[3] An individual employee's protected actions can be seen as concerted when they are acting on behalf of other employees or bringing a group complaint to their employer.^[4] If employee actions do not rise to the level of protected, concerted activity it is said to be unprotected. Additionally, employees can lose their Section 7 protections even involved in protected, concerted activity when they engage illegal tactics or behavior.^[5]