A captive audience refers to a situation in which an employer gives speeches that discourage employees from joining a union or that are in some way anti-union. These speeches may be given to employees on company time and company property and only if they are not coercive. The employer is not required to give the union an equal opportunity to reply to the speech during work hours on company property. An exception to the general rule regarding captive audience speeches bars such speeches during the 24-hour "cooling off" period before a representation election. Violation of this bar is grounds to set aside a representation election.
[Last updated in July of 2022 by the Wex Definitions Team]
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