Labor Relations / Unions

Firing worker for Facebook rant: Is it illegal?

11/22/2010

In what could be a groundbreaking case, the National Labor Relations Board filed an unfair labor practice complaint last month against a Connecticut company that fired a worker who complained about her supervisor on Facebook. This is the first case in which the NLRB has argued that workers’ criticisms on social networking sites are protected activity.

Contract talks stuck? Put health care on the table

11/19/2010

News to note if you work in a unionized workplace: Health benefits are still a legitimate bargaining chip. Members of the University Professional & Technical Employees Union recently agreed to shoulder more of the health insurance burden in exchange for better performance-based pay.

California Supreme Court upholds state furloughs

11/19/2010

For a while, there was some doubt that outgoing Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger could legally force unionized state employees to accept furloughs ordered to ease California’s budget crisis. Now the California Supreme Court has ruled that the furloughs were legal.

NLRB: Hair salon must cut out anti-union activities

11/12/2010

The National Labor Relations Board has filed unfair labor practices charges against Edina-based Regis Corp., which operates hair salons nationwide under the Regis Salons, Cost Cutters, Supercuts, MasterCuts and other brands. The NLRB alleges that the company’s CEO intimidated employees into signing a pledge not to join a union.

Know the NLRA: Unionized or not, labor law applies to you

11/11/2010

The federal labor law can be a trap for the unwary—even for nonunion employers. Even if your employees don’t belong to a union, the National Labor Relations Act applies to you. For example, the National Labor Relations Board recently announced that a nonunionized employer will pay $900,000 to two fired employees to settle charges that it violated the NLRA.

HR after the mid-terms: What’s Washington going to do?

11/09/2010

Republicans captured control of the House of Representatives in the mid-term elections, while Democrats retained a slim majority in the Senate. With a Democrat in the White House and a divided Congress, what does that mean for the HR-related issues that have dominated the headlines for the last two years? Here’s our rundown of the likely legislative scenarios.

West Palm Beach labor dispute becomes election issue

11/01/2010

An ongoing dispute between West Palm Beach’s Kravis Center for the Performing Arts and trade unions became an election issue this fall, forcing candidates to cancel political events they had scheduled there rather than cross picket lines.

Now at full strength, will NLRB continue anti-business bias?

10/15/2010

Now that it’s finally back in business, the NLRB has issued several controversial and decidedly anti-business decisions. You may recall that the U.S. Supreme Court recently ruled that NLRB decisions made while there were just two board members are invalid. Those old cases and all new ones are now being heard by a new set of board members, three of whom are former union lawyers.

Library cuts lead to bias suits, a new union and spiraling costs

10/15/2010

Faced with falling revenue, the counties that fund the Great River Regional Library System last year implemented what they hoped would be cost-saving measures. The unwanted results: Two age-discrimination lawsuits, the unionization of library managers, higher unemployment comp costs and spiraling legal fees.

The HR I.Q. Test: October ’10

10/13/2010

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