NLRB files complaint against Amazon for unlawful confidentiality agreement

A new complaint from the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB ) is accusing Amazon of requiring some corporate employees to sign an unlawful confidentiality agreement.

The complaint states Amazon had required a former employee from its drone project, Amazon Prime Air, to sign an agreement that forbade discussion of information regarding Amazon, whether or not it was designated as confidential.

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The NLRB found that because employees can’t talk about most aspects of work, they also can’t talk about unionizing or organizing of any kind.

Amazon says nothing in the agreement restricts employees from exercising their rights.

“Confidentiality agreements are common across most companies. In this instance, the NLRB is taking one line of our agreement out of context and we look forward to showing that through the legal process,” spokesperson Mary Kate Paradis told The Seattle Times.

The employee had also previously filed a lawsuit against Amazon, alleging that the company discriminated against him because he is black and retaliated against him for raising safety concerns. Amazon has disputed these claims.

An NLRB hearing is scheduled in Seattle for next July.

Contributing: The Seattle Times