What is a Weingarten meeting and what are my rights during such a meeting?

Weingarten rights guarantee an employee the right to Union representation during an investigatory interview. These rights, established by the Supreme Court, in 1975 in the case of J'. Weingarten Inc,, must be claimed by the employee. 

What is an Investigatory Interview?
An investigatory interview is one in which a Supervisor questions an employee to obtain information which could be used as a basis for discipline or asks an employee to defend his/her conduct. If an employee has a reasonable belief that discipline or discharge may result from what they say, the employee has the right to request Union representation.

Examples of such an interview are:

1. The interview is part of the employer's disciplinary procedure or is a component of the employer's procedure for determining whether discipline will be imposed.
2. The purpose of the interview is to investigate an employee's performance where discipline, demotion or other adverse consequences to the employee's job status or working conditions are a possible result.
3. The purpose of the interview is to elicit facts from the employee to support disciplinary action that is probable or that is being considered, or to obtain admissions of misconduct or other evidence to support a disciplinary decision already made.
4. The employee is required to explain his/her conduct, or defend it during the interview, or is compelled to answer questions or give evidence.

It is an obligation of the Union to educate bargaining unit employees about their Weingarten rights BEFORE an occasion to use them arises. An employee must state to the employer that he/she wants a Union representative present; the employer has no obligation to ask the employee if she/he wants a representative.

Weingarten Rules
When an investigatory interview occurs, the following rules apply:

Rule 1 - The employee must make a clear request for Union representation before or during the interview. The employee can't be punished for making this request.

Rule 2 - After the employee makes the request, the supervisor has 3 options. They must either: 

Grant the request and delay the interview until the Union representative arrives and has a chance to consult privately with the employee: or
Deny the request and end the interview immediately; or
Give the employee a Choice of: 1)having the interview without representation or 2) ending the interview

Rule 3 - If the supervisor denies the request and continues to ask questions, this is an unfair labor practice and the employee has a right to refuse to answer. The employee cannot be disciplined for such refusal but is required to sit there until the supervisor terminates the interview. Leaving before this happens may constitute punishable insubordination.

Remember:  If this meeting could in any way lead to you being disciplined or discharged, request that a Union representative be present at the meeting. Without representation, you can choose not to answer any questions.    Discipline will not be overturned if the discipline was for reasons other than insistence on Weingarten rights. Any information gained by the Employer from the employee in a meeting during which a breach of Weingarten rights occurred may be excluded from a hearing on the matter.