Federal Court Rejects Policy On Employee Talk

CINCINNATI (AP) A federal appeals court Friday rejects a Cintas Corporation policy, saying it violates employees' rights to discuss working conditions at the nation's largest uniform supply company.

Friday, March 16th 2007, 8:00 pm

By: News On 6

CINCINNATI (AP) A federal appeals court Friday rejects a Cintas Corporation policy, saying it violates employees' rights to discuss working conditions at the nation's largest uniform supply company.

The company says it has some 32,000 employees in 350 facilities across North America, including 15 manufacturing plants and seven distribution centers. One of the company's facilities is in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

The ruling by a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia upheld a National Labor Relations Board conclusion that a company handbook policy violated federal labor protections.

A message for comment was left at Cintas' Cincinnati headquarters. The company could appeal the ruling.

The labor group Unite Here, which has been trying to organize Cintas workers, says the policy chilled workers' ability to form a union.