This is just indicative of the stupid rules and regulations that come out of the Obama administration. A company was told they can't tell their employees that they need to be courteous to customers. These NRLB rules need to be stopped by tossing Obama out on his ear. Employee handbook language promoting common courtesy may sound innocuous, but the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) ruled on Sept. 28, 2012, that a BMW car dealershipâs courtesy rule violated the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). A BMW dealership in Lake Bluff, Ill., that was not unionized included in its employee handbook a rule stating: âCourtesy is the responsibility of every employee. Everyone is expected to be courteous, polite and friendly to our customers, vendors and suppliers, as well as to their fellow employees. No one should be disrespectful or use profanity or any other language which injures the image or reputation of the dealership.â Fired for his Facebook posts about an accident at another of his employerâs dealerships, Robert Becker challenged not only his termination but also the courtesy rule. The NLRB struck down the rule, concluding that employees would reasonably interpret it as prohibiting such concerted activity as objecting to working conditions. If the rule contained only the first sentence, it might have been upheld, the board said. But it took issue with the ruleâs reference to disrespectful behavior or behavior that injures the companyâs image. âThere is nothing in the rule, or anywhere else in the employee handbook, that would reasonably suggest to employees that employee communications protected by Section 7 of the act are excluded from the ruleâs broad reach,â the board added (Karl Knauz Motors, 358 NLRB No. 164). http://www.shrm.org/legalissues/federalresources/pages/handbook-courtesy.aspx