The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) decided on Nov. 13 that an employer violates Section 8(a)(1) of the National Labor Relations Act when compelling employees "on pain of discipline or discharge" to attend meetings during which the employer expresses its views on unionization—commonly referred to as captive-audience meetings. In doing so, the NLRB upended decades-old precedent in Babcock & Wilcox Co. that recognized captive-audience meetings as lawful.