By KIMBERLEY HAAS
A National Labor Relations Board judge has found that portions of a mandatory employment agreement between United Wholesale Mortgage and its workers should be rescinded.
“Having found that the respondent engaged in certain unfair labor practices, I find that the respondent must be ordered to rescind the unlawful portions of its current employment agreement and print and distribute a revised employee agreement that does not contain the unlawful portions,” Administrative Law Judge Susannah Merritt wrote.
Merritt found that leaders at UWM violated federal labor laws because the company’s employment agreement contained overly broad, ambiguous, and/or discriminatory work rules about proprietary and confidential information as well as the return of property and information. Rules about employee communications, including responses to media inquiries, were found to be unlawful.
Merritt also found that the employment agreement contained an overly restrictive arbitration clause.
The judge recommended an order that UWM post notices informing workers that the company violated federal labor laws and that they have the right to form, join, or assist a union. The notice should state the company will not maintain provisions in the employee agreement that prohibit the disclosure of compensation.
“We will not maintain provisions in our employment agreement that restrict or interfere with your rights to engage in protected concerted activities related to your wages, hours, or other terms and conditions of employment,” is also included in the recommended language.
Merritt issued her findings on Jan. 11. She originally heard the case on Aug. 15, 2023, in Detroit, Michigan, after a complaint against UWM was filed on March 29, 2023.
The matter will now be continued before the National Labor Relations Board.
UWM employs about 6,000 people and is headquartered in Pontiac, Michigan. The company recently rebranded its consumer-facing website, FindAMortgageBroker.com, as Mortgage Matchup.
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