Coyotes under investigation for alleged labor law violations

The Arizona Coyotes have come under investigation by the National Labor Relations Board on two occasions in the past 13 months, according to Craig Harris of azcentral.

One of those investigations was put to rest after the Coyotes reached an undisclosed financial settlement with the team's payroll administrator.

The allegations were as follows:

The employee had alleged the violations occurred during most of 2016, when the Coyotes created an impression that employees were under surveillance, threatened staff if they engaged in union organizing, caused employees to sign overly broad and discriminatory severance agreements and fired the employee after she complained the Coyotes failed to properly pay staff, according to NLRB records.

Despite the settlement, the Coyotes admitted no wrongdoing in that case.

The team does face a hearing on Jan. 9, 2018 in regards to a second investigation, which stems from allegations from a former ticket salesman that the Coyotes interfered with employees' rights to unionize.

James Whitener claims the club "fired him for engaging in protected labor activities, and the team asked employees to sign separation agreements that were 'overly broad and unlawful.'"

The Coyotes have also denied those allegations.

Arizona is a notoriously low-spending team, and the Coyotes have long been thought to be prime candidates for relocation. On the ice, the Coyotes are the first team in NHL history without a regulation win through 20 games.