Geico settles US labor board case over alleged anti-union threats, surveillance

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(Bloomberg) –Geico has settled allegations by the US labor board that it illegally threatened and interrogated upstate New York employees about unionization efforts.

The insurance company agreed to post a notice informing employees of their rights and vowing to comply with federal labor law, including a series of pledges such as “WE WILL NOT tell employees that they will get on GEICO’s radar if they fill out union authorization cards.”

The National Labor Relations Board approved the settlement in April, following a complaint in October against Geico by a regional director of the agency.

In 2022, faced with a unionization campaign by a fledgling employee-led group called Geico United, the company’s management informed employees that their labor activism was under surveillance, told them they were “dreamers” if they thought they could unionize, and encouraged them to call the police if they were contacted by pro-union employees, according to the NLRB’s complaint.

The filing, which Bloomberg obtained through a request under the Freedom of Information Act, also alleged that the company issued a social media policy that interfered with workers’ rights, threatened to punish employees for labor organizing and interrogated staff about workers’ union activism.

The company, a unit of Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway, said Thursday that many other allegations against it had been withdrawn or dismissed, and that it settled in order to minimize expending time and money. 

“GEICO fully respects the federally protected rights of our associates under the National Labor Relations Act,” the company said in an emailed statement. “We are pleased to have settled this matter.”

Geico’s facilities all remain non-union, and Geico United so far has not petitioned for a unionization vote, according to the NLRB’s docket.