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Labor Relations / Unions

Children’s Hospital nurses return to work after strike

05/20/2011
After a five-day strike, registered nurses have started returning to their jobs at Children’s Hospital in Oak­land. The nurses, represented by the California Nurses Association/National Nurses United, walked out on May 5 over a dispute about health care benefits.

Lawmakers urged to reject new labor contracts

05/20/2011
The nonpartisan California Legislative Analyst’s Office (LAO) has urged state law­makers to consider rejecting some or all of six new collective bargaining agreements negotiated with state employee unions in March.

If we buy another company, are we also buying the union that represents its employees?

05/11/2011
Q. We’re considering buying another company in the same industry. That company has a unionized workforce, and our executives are concerned because they don’t want to deal with a union. Otherwise, though, they are positive about this possibility … If we buy this company, will we have to deal with the union?

How can we help get a union decertified?

05/11/2011
Q. A few employees have told me recently they are fed up with their union and would like to get rid of it. How can I help them? We’d be glad to get rid of the union, too.

NLRB presses first case involving Twitter posts

05/03/2011
Employees have the right to discuss working conditions, whether face-to-face around the water cooler or in the online world. The National Labor Relations Board seems intent on making sure employers understand that social media posts are protected, too. Hot on the heels of a decision involving Facebook, the NLRB is now tackling Twitter. Tip: Time for you to develop a social media policy.

Lessons from LEAP 2011

05/03/2011
Last month, The HR Specialist hosted the 7th annual Labor  & Employment Law Advanced Practices (LEAP) Symposium in Las Vegas. Here are a few nuggets of insight and advice from the more than 30 attorney speakers:

Leave contracts to the experts: Have attorney draft documents detailing benefits

05/02/2011
Make sure an attorney reviews any contracts dealing with employee benefits and the like. A good lawyer will make sure the agreement does what you want it to do and doesn’t have language that may need court interpretation.

The HR I.Q. Test: May ’11

05/02/2011
Test your knowledge of recent trends in employment law, comp & benefits and other HR issues with our monthly mini-quiz …

Training not working? Time to try demotion

04/25/2011
Not every employee is suited to promotion—something that may not become clear until far into the process. That’s why smart employers set reasonable expectations for training success and remain prepared to demote those who don’t make the cut.

NLRB presses first case involving Twitter posts

04/22/2011
The National Labor Relations Board last month said it planned to file a complaint against media firm Thompson Reuters for reprimanding a reporter over a Twitter post that criticized management. The NLRB settled a similar case in February involving a worker fired for Facebook postings critical of her boss.