UNFAIR PRACTICE ISSUES; PROTECTED ACTIVITIES – Speech

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The Rancho Santiago standard encompasses two different tests to determine whether employee communications are protected. When an employer’s objection to employee speech is content-based, the speech is protected unless (1) it is demonstrably false, and (2) the employee knew the speech was false or acted with reckless disregard for whether it was true or false. When an employer’s objection to employee speech is conduct-based, the Board analyzes whether the manner in which the employee communicated was so opprobrious, flagrant, insubordinate, or disruptive to workplace operations that it loses its statutory protection. (p. 8.)