Labor & Employment Law Daily Wrap Up, NLRB NEWS—Settlement reached in charge against building services provider for maintaining no-poach provision in service contracts, (Jan 8, 2025)
Organizations Mentioned:Planned Building Services, Inc. | Planned Companies | Planned Lifestyle Services, Inc. | Planned Security Services, Inc. | Planned Technologies Services, Inc.
By Brandi O. Brown, J.D.
The settlement approved by Region 22-Newark coincides with an FTC order telling the same building services contractors to stop enforcing the unlawful agreements.
At the end of December, Region 22-Newark’s Director approved a settlement remedying an unfair labor practice charge filed by SEIU 32BJ alleging that Planned Companies—a janitorial, building maintenance, and concierge service provider based in New Jersey with various locations across the country—violated the National Labor Relations Act by maintaining an unlawful no-poach provision.
Region 22 issued a complaint alleging that Planned Companies, doing business as Planned Building Services, Planned Lifestyle Services, and Planned Security Services (Planned Companies), restricted its client buildings from soliciting its employees to work for them in a similar job classification for a period of six months after termination of the agreement or from hiring employees after they left the provider’s employment. Any entity retained by the client building to replace Planned Companies was also bound by the hiring restriction.
Settlement provisions. The settlement provides that Planned Companies will post a notice informing employees of their rights and notify client buildings that they have rescinded the applicable covenant in their client service agreements and that it will not enforce them. The settlement also references the remedying effect of the Letter to Customers and Letter to Employees contained in the FTC’s Proposed Consent Order, which was also announced on the same day. The NLRB notes that it and the Federal Trade Commission collaborated on this case under the agencies’ MOU.
“This settlement demonstrates the ways that the NLRB remedies no-poach agreements that interfere with workers ability to exercise their labor rights” said General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo. “I am very grateful for the Region’s hard work and am very proud of our partnership with the FTC to unburden workers of the effects of these unlawful restrictions.”
Companies: Planned Building Services, Inc.; Planned Security Services, Inc.; Planned Lifestyle Services, Inc.; Planned Technologies Services, Inc.; Planned Companies
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