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Labor Relations / Unions

Do your policies comply with the National Labor Relations Act?

12/12/2012
Many employers assume that the National Labor Relations Ac, enacted over 70 years ago, applies only to unionized workplaces and employees who belong to unions. Not true. In fact, the NLRA covers almost all employees and private employers.

Cliffs Natural Resources, Steelworkers sign pact

12/12/2012
Cliffs Natural Resources and the United Steelworkers have ratified a 37-month labor agreement, retro­active to Sept. 1, 2012. The agreement provides a 4.5% wage increase with an additional bonus of $4,250 per employee.

Lorain, Steubenville union elections challenged by DOL

12/12/2012
The U.S. Department of Labor has sued two United Steel­­workers of America locals in Ohio over alleged union election irregularities. The DOL wants both April 2012 elections nullified.

NLRB expands duty to respond to union information requests

12/03/2012
The NLRB continues to force new requirements on employers from all directions. Its latest salvo comes in its ruling in IronTiger Logistics. The NLRB says resulting new requirements represent an effort at increased civility and common sense in the negotiation process. However, the legal foundation for the ruling is suspect.

Ask EEOC to keep employee info confidential

12/03/2012

If you ever have to face off against the EEOC in court, watch out! The commission has great discretion to expand a case that may have begun with just one employee. In doing so, it may demand a long list of information about your employees, past and present. Before turning over employee information to the EEOC, ask the court to order confidentiality.

NLRB and social media: Be careful what your policy prohibits

11/15/2012
There are now fewer union members than at any point in the past 70 years. And if employers, unencumbered by collective bargaining agreements, don’t spend much time worrying about unionization, it’s a safe bet that they give hardly any thought to how labor law intersects with the ways in which employees electronically communicate with one another. But there’s a powerful connection between the two.

More questions than answers after NLRB Facebook firing ruling

11/13/2012
By now, you have probably heard about the NLRB decision in Karl Knauz Motors, Inc. d/b/a Knauz BMW. On appeal, the NLRB agreed with the ruling of an administrative law judge  that Knauz BMW did not violate the National Labor Relations Act when it fired a salesman for making a derogatory post on Face­­book. However, employers shouldn’t take much comfort in the outcome.

NLRB clamps down on internal investigation confidentiality

10/27/2012

The National Labor Relations Board, the federal agency charged with enforcing the National Labor Relations Act, has increased its focus on employer/employee communications. This matters to all employers, whether or not their employees are represented by a union.

Court sides with union on Costa Mesa outsourcing

10/22/2012
A California Court of Appeal has affirmed a preliminary injunction against the city of Costa Mesa, which attempted to contract out work currently performed by city employees.

‘Keep this private’ may be unlawful request during internal investigations

10/18/2012

When investigating claims of harassment or misconduct, it’s common to ask employees whom you interview to “keep this information confidential.” But a new ruling from the NLRB says that such a blanket confidentiality rule violates employees’ legal rights unless “legitimate and substantial justification exists” for the rule.