The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has struck down 2 provisions in an employer policy manuals as overly broad and in violation of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). The first dealt with Company information confidentiality, in that a company policy stated that “[T]here shall be no disclosure of any confidential information to anyone outside the Company without the appropriate authorization.” The NLRB in its ruling noted that the definition of confidential info (“all information gathered by, retained or generated by the company”) was so broad that it could include employee wage rates, employment policies, handbook rules, and other information – and a confidentiality rule covering such information is in violation of the NLRA. Similarly, a different policy prohibited employees from posting derogatory information about the Company on social media sites and required that they instead bring their grievances or complaints through normal channels. It too was struck down by the NLRB as overly broad in that the prohibition is not limited to disparagement of the employer’s products or services and could therefore serve as a blanket prohibition on employees making any comments on social media that disparage the employer – a clear violation of the NLRA. Employers are well advised to regularly review their employee manuals with counsel.