Yellow Dog Contract

What is a yellow dog contract?

A yellow dog contract is an agreement between an employer and employee that forbids the employee from joining—or remaining a member of—a labor union as a condition of their employment. These contracts gave businesses the right to seek legal action against the employee for breach of contract if they chose to organize at a later time.

Yellow dog contracts were common in the early 20th century, but are typically not seen today as they are considered an unfair labor practice that interferes with an employee’s collective bargaining rights. While federal law prohibited the use of yellow dog contracts in the private sector in 1932, such contracts were still allowed in the public sector until the 1960s. 

Yellow dog contract FAQs

What act outlawed yellow dog contracts?

The Supreme Court of the United States upheld the legality of yellow dog contracts in several high-profile cases in the early 20th century, deeming that employers had the right to negotiate the terms of employment. However, the Norris-LaGuardia Act of 1932 significantly limited the federal court’s ability to issue injunctions in labor disputes and made yellow dog contracts unenforceable.

The National Labor Relations Act of 1935 further reduced the legality of yellow dog contracts in the private sector as it guaranteed employees’ rights to collective bargaining, including the right to form and join unions.

Why is it called a yellow dog contract?

Anti-union contracts have been around since at least the 1870s, but the term yellow dog contract appears to have been coined sometime after World War I. It’s generally believed that the derogatory term is aimed at employees who sign such contracts, deeming them to be cowardly and subservient to their employers like a “yellow dog.”

What happened to employees who broke a yellow dog contract?

Yellow dog contracts were intended to help employers maintain control over their employees and prevent them from collective bargaining. Before labor laws prevented the use of such a contract, employees who signed an employment agreement with a yellow dog clause could be fired if they joined, formed, or otherwise supported labor unions.