EMPLOYER INTERFERENCE, RESTRAINT, COERCION; DEFENSES – Conduct Ineffective

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A finding of interference, coercion, or restraint does not require evidence that any employee subjectively felt threatened or intimidated, or was in fact discouraged from participating in protected activity; the inquiry is an objective one which asks whether, under the circumstances, an employee would reasonably be discouraged from engaging in protected activity. Thus, the fact that an employer’s no-contact order did not stop a particular employee from continuing to engage in protected communications does not preclude a finding that the order would have discouraged a reasonable employee from doing so. (p. 22.)