A complaint filed with the National Labor Relations Board by a former employee of Nintendo has accused the company of unlawful termination over the staffer supporting labor organization.
According to the filing (thanks, Axios), the staffer discussed wages and other terms and conditions of employment, and in order to discourage further discourse among employees, Nintendo fired the staffer.
The person who filed the complaint also states that Nintendo interfered with, restrained, and coerced its employees from exercising their right to discuss unions by engaging in surveillance or creating the impression of surveillance of employees’ union activities.
If true, Nintendo’s actions violate the National Labor Relations Act enacted in 1935. This federal law grants employees the right to form or join unions, and allows employees to engage in protected, concerted activities to address or improve working conditions or refrain from engaging in these activities.
Since news of the accusations broke, former Nintendo employees have spoken out about other unfair or what could be deemed as shady pratcices by the company.
In a statment to Polygon, a Nintendo spokesperson stated it was aware of the claim, and it is cooperating with the investigation led by the NLRB. However, the company also stated the employee in question was “terminated for the disclosure of confidential information and for no other reason.”
Nintendo went on to state it was not “aware of any attempts to unionize” or any related activity.
