An administrative law judge with the National Labor Relations Board ruled that a United Wholesale Mortgage contract violates labor laws.
Judge Susannah Merritt's decision, issued on Jan.11, orders UWM to eliminate unlawful sections of the contract and provide a revised version to current and former employees. This ruling is still pending final approval by a four-member NLRB board and would apply to UWM's contracts dating back to Dec. 21, 2021.
UWM strongly disputed the findings, calling them "politically driven." In a statement, a company spokesperson said, "UWM’s standard employment agreement is in compliance with current law and the National Labor Relations Act. We disagree with the finding of the administrative law judge, who failed to follow the existing law and planned to appeal this politically driven ruling."
The original complaint was filed by Christopher Dennis, who was employed as a senior underwriter for UWM from early 2021 through early 2022.
According to the complaint and other documents, which were released to NMP following a Freedom of Information Act request, Dennis claims that the Pontiac, Mich.-based UWM “maintained an ‘employment agreement’ that unlawfully prohibits” him from discussing the company “in any critical or negative manner, including any aspect of company affairs, activities, personnel, or operations.”
The complaint continues, “The employer’s action is unlawfully calculated to cause employees and former employees” to refrain from “engaging in protected and concerted activities.” It adds that “Upon information and belief, the employer maintains identical ‘employment agreements’ for many other current and former employees.”
The complaint states that through the unlawful agreements, UWM “has engaged in and is engaging in unfair labor practices” as defined by federal law.
Merritt concurred, determining that substantial portions of the contract were "overly broad and ... not narrowly tailored to protect Respondent’s truly proprietary information." The terms of UWM's contract were seen as unlawfully restricting employees from discussing workplace matters, disputes, wages, union activities, and more. The judge also identified violations of labor laws concerning arbitration, social media usage, and media contact.
UWM has until Feb. 8 to file an exception or appeal against the decision, according to NLRB documents.
The ruling also highlighted other unlawful restrictions, such as prohibiting employees from publicly criticizing the company and prohibiting using UWM's logo by employees or unions in materials related to disputes. This parallels UWM's recent dispute with a Facebook group that employed the company's logo and discussed matters involving broker choices.
Despite the violations found, Judge Merritt ruled in favor of UWM on some terms, notably those prohibiting employees from disclosing mortgage customer and applicant information. She argued that such rules were designed to safeguard sensitive and private mortgage applicant information.
If the NLRB ruling is confirmed, UWM will be required to display a four-page appendix, both digitally and within its offices, for a 60-day period, acknowledging the NLRB's finding of labor law violations and reasserting workers' rights.
