--- title: "Get Off My Lawn: The NLRB Sets New Standard for Access to Employer Property By Off-duty Employees of Contractors" description: "" url: "https://wimlaw.com/articles/get-off-my-lawn-the-nlrb-sets-new-standard-for-access-to-employer-property-by-off-duty-employees-of-contractors" date: "2026-06-10T09:31:57+00:00" language: "en-US" --- # Get Off My Lawn: The NLRB Sets New Standard for Access to Employer Property By Off-duty Employees of Contractors Written on August 26, 2019. Last week, the National Labor Relations Board handed employers a victory in a case involving access to property. *Bexar County Performing Arts Foundation*, N.L.R.B., 16-CA-193636 (8/23/19). Specifically, the Board addressed whether and when a property owner must grant access to the off-duty employees of an onsite contractor to engage in Section 7 activity. Overruling precedent set during the Obama era, the Board held that contractor employees are not generally entitled to the same Section 7 access rights as the property owner's own employees. Therefore, a property owner may exclude from its property off-duty contractor employees seeking access to the property to engage in Section 7 activity unless (i) those employees work both regularly and exclusively on the property and (ii) the property owner fails to show that they have one or more reasonable nontrespassory alternative means to communicate their message. Further, the Board stated that it considers contractor employees to work "regularly" on the owner's property only if the contractor regularly conducts business or performs services there. In addition, the Board will consider contractor employees to work "exclusively" on the owner's property if they perform all of their work for that contractor on the property, even if they also work a second job elsewhere for another employer. This case involved the Tobin Center, a performing arts center, which houses three principal resident companies: the Symphony, Ballet San Antonio, and Opera San Antonio. When the Ballet San Antonio chose to use recorded music for its performances of *Sleeping Beauty*, the Symphony employees were not pleased because that meant lost work for them. The Union representing the Symphony employees decided to hand out leaflets on Tobin Center property before the four weekend performances of *Sleeping Beauty*. In response, the Tobin Center barred the Symphony employees and their sympathizers from leafletting on its property, and the Union filed a charge with the NLRB. In its decision, the Board noted that the Symphony employees did not work on the Tobin Center's property exclusively; they performed at other venues as well. Furthermore, the Symphony employees did not "regularly" work on the Tobin Center's property because the Symphony itself did not regularly conduct business or perform services there. Finally, they had other alternative nontrespassory channels of communication to reach the general public: a public sidewalk across the street from the Tobin Center's property. Accordingly, the Tobin Center lawfully denied the Symphony employees access to its property for their leafletting activities. The current Republican majority Board has shown that it is willing to give employers greater control over their property in the face of union activity. This ruling follows the Board's decision in June in which it overruled 38 year-old precedent and held that an employer does not have a duty to allow the use of its facility by nonemployees for promotional or organizational activity. *UPMC*, N.L.R.B., 368 N.L.R.B. No. 2 (6/14/19). The Board has also announced that it will use its rulemaking power to clarify standards for union activity on employer property. - [](https://x.com/intent/post?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwimlaw.com%2Farticles%2Fget-off-my-lawn-the-nlrb-sets-new-standard-for-access-to-employer-property-by-off-duty-employees-of-contractors.md&text=) - [](https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwimlaw.com%2Farticles%2Fget-off-my-lawn-the-nlrb-sets-new-standard-for-access-to-employer-property-by-off-duty-employees-of-contractors.md) - [](https://www.linkedin.com/sharing/share-offsite/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwimlaw.com%2Farticles%2Fget-off-my-lawn-the-nlrb-sets-new-standard-for-access-to-employer-property-by-off-duty-employees-of-contractors.md) - [](mailto:?subject=Get%20Off%20My%20Lawn%3A%20%20The%20NLRB%20Sets%20New%20Standard%20for%20Access%20to%20Employer%20Property%20By%20Off-duty%20Employees%20of%20Contractors) ![Kathleen J. Jennings](https://wimlaw.com/images/resources/articles/2020/06/kathleen-portrait-300.jpg) Kathleen J. Jennings Former Principal Kathleen J. Jennings is a former principal in the Atlanta office of Wimberly, Lawson, Steckel, Schneider, & Stine, P.C. She defends employers in employment matters, such as sexual harassment, discrimination, Wage and Hour, OSHA, restrictive covenants, and other employment litigation and provides training and counseling to employers in employment matters. ## Related Content ## Get Email Updates Receive newsletters and alerts directly in your email inbox. Sign up below. ## Recent Content [ Articles ](https://wimlaw.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&id=205) [ ![ai, human reach out](https://wimlaw.com/media/yootheme/cache/f1/igor-omilaev-FHgWFzDDAOs-unsplash-f12346e8.jpg) ](https://wimlaw.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1582:fcra-litigation-challenges-employers-ai-hiring&catid=53)### [FCRA Litigation Challenges Employers’ Use of AI Hiring Platforms](https://wimlaw.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1582:fcra-litigation-challenges-employers-ai-hiring&catid=53) [Employment Law Newsletter: A Monthly Report On Labor Law Issues](https://wimlaw.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&id=53) A January 20, 2026, class action filed against Eightfold AI, Inc. in California is sending shockwaves through the employer and AI community… [Read more](https://wimlaw.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1582:fcra-litigation-challenges-employers-ai-hiring&catid=53) [ ![danger sign, skull](https://wimlaw.com/media/yootheme/cache/01/mikael-seegen-jX6WXNkvsPs-unsplash-01c1ebef.jpg) ](https://wimlaw.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1584:ai-research-discovery-requests-dangers&catid=53)### [The Dangers of Employers Using AI Research Tools as to Discovery Requests from Plaintiffs](https://wimlaw.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1584:ai-research-discovery-requests-dangers&catid=53) [Employment Law Newsletter: A Monthly Report On Labor Law Issues](https://wimlaw.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&id=53) A second “bombshell” affecting HR pertaining to AI is a federal court ruling in New York, that a defendant’s use of AI in researching and p… [Read more](https://wimlaw.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1584:ai-research-discovery-requests-dangers&catid=53) [ ![CHAT GPT](https://wimlaw.com/media/yootheme/cache/64/emiliano-vittoriosi-fvxNerA8uk0-unsplash-64a16be4.jpg) ](https://wimlaw.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1585:ai-employer-protection&catid=53)### [Two Subsequent Cases Protect Defendant’s Use of AI as Subject to Work-product Protection](https://wimlaw.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1585:ai-employer-protection&catid=53) [Employment Law Newsletter: A Monthly Report On Labor Law Issues](https://wimlaw.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&id=53) Soon after the deciding of the above-discussed case on February 17, 2026, in U.S. v. Heppner, a criminal case in the District Court for the… [Read more](https://wimlaw.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1585:ai-employer-protection&catid=53) [ ![avoid, wave away](https://wimlaw.com/media/yootheme/cache/6f/priscilla-du-preez-NQTphr4Pr60-unsplash-6fb4df83.jpg) ](https://wimlaw.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1586:employer-avoid-waiving-privileges-ai-research&catid=53)### [Is There Anything an Employer Can Do to Avoid Waiving Privileges in Using AI Research Tools?](https://wimlaw.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1586:employer-avoid-waiving-privileges-ai-research&catid=53) [Employment Law Newsletter: A Monthly Report On Labor Law Issues](https://wimlaw.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&id=53) There are no easy answers to the above question, but some general observations will nevertheless be made. First, the New York district cou… [Read more](https://wimlaw.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1586:employer-avoid-waiving-privileges-ai-research&catid=53) [ ![ai visualization](https://wimlaw.com/media/yootheme/cache/45/milad-fakurian-5yWtM3M3JKM-unsplash-45306e6d.jpg) ](https://wimlaw.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1587:ai-legal-recommendations&catid=53)### [Suggestions on Use of AI](https://wimlaw.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1587:ai-legal-recommendations&catid=53) [Employment Law Newsletter: A Monthly Report On Labor Law Issues](https://wimlaw.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&id=53) Perhaps the starting point is to look at the type of AI platforms generally available. At a recent conference about AI use for HR, speaker… [Read more](https://wimlaw.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1587:ai-legal-recommendations&catid=53) [ ![june 2026 legal immigration webinar promo graphic](https://wimlaw.com/media/yootheme/cache/45/june-2026-webinar-immigration-453d45bc.jpg) ](https://wimlaw.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1583:worksite-enforcement-tps-parole&catid=221)### [Worksite Enforcement and TPS and Parole Status Update](https://wimlaw.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1583:worksite-enforcement-tps-parole&catid=221) [Webinars: Employment Law "Hot Topics"](https://wimlaw.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&id=221) The webinar covers how to deal with a worksite enforcement action and various types of immigration enforcement activities. The webinar also… [Read more](https://wimlaw.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1583:worksite-enforcement-tps-parole&catid=221) ### Additional Legal Resources [### Newsletter Explore ](https://wimlaw.com/publications/newsletters) [### Books Explore ](https://wimlaw.com/publications/books) [### Alerts Explore ](https://wimlaw.com/alerts) [### Articles Explore ](https://wimlaw.com/articles) [### Audits Explore ](https://wimlaw.com/audits) [### Events Explore ](https://wimlaw.com/events) ## Schema ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://wimlaw.com" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Articles", "item": "https://wimlaw.com/articles" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Get Off My Lawn: The NLRB Sets New Standard for Access to Employer Property By Off-duty Employees of Contractors", "item": "https://wimlaw.com/articles/get-off-my-lawn-the-nlrb-sets-new-standard-for-access-to-employer-property-by-off-duty-employees-of-contractors" } ] } ```