Management’s Workplace Blog – Information and Insights for Employers
The latest office fodder for me and my colleague, Jason Usher (who formerly worked at the National Labor Relations Board (“Board”)), involves an Administrative Law Judge’s (“ALJ”) decision, Valley Health System LLC, that found that a healthcare employer’s English-only rule violated the National Labor Relations Act (“Act”).
Many employers, especially those in the healthcare…
Once upon a time, the National Labor Relations Board actually found Facebook posts by employees to be unprotected by the National Labor Relations Act… A fairy tale for employers, you say? No really, it actually happened, in the case of Richmond District Neighborhood Center.
Over the past several years, it seems that the Board…
Wise employers know that management should keep individual employee discipline on a need to know basis. In other words, an employee’s written warning or counseling should not be shared by management with the employee’s co-workers or even with managers who are not in the employee’s chain of command. Some employers may also take the position…
Even with the hoopla surrounding March Madness there has been equally compelling news regarding college football despite the fact that that sport is not even in season. The National Labor Relations Board’s Chicago office just handed down a decision that Northwestern football players are employees and have the right to organize. Nothing will happen immediately…
Management-side labor attorneys often are spoilsports when it comes to outside groups entering company property to peddle their wares. Many employers think they are being the benevolent boss by inviting cable companies, cell phone providers, charities, etc. onto the company premises and allowing these groups access to their employees. But if you allow all of …
For a labor law attorney like myself, today is Christmas morning at the Supreme Court. In contrast to most labor law cases which reach the High Court and usually involve procedural and/or constitutional issues and labor law itself is only a side show (like Noel Canning later this term), the case at 1 First Street …
Do you wonder why a large inflatable rat stands nearby when a union is picketing? In the building trades, “rat” is a term that unions sometimes use to refer to a non-union contractor. A union typically sets up its inflatable rat (or, in some cases, a skunk) at its picket line at a site (e.g.,…
The Livin Spoonful case is perhaps the funniest ALJ decision I have read in a LONG time. This is the latest in the protected concerted activity train under the National Labor Relations Act.
The story involves a “gluten-free” “artisan” cracker company from Portland, literally based out of owner Brousseau’s kitchen and garage. The company contributes…
Labor Peace Agreements Leading to Successful Organizing: The U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Workplace Freedom Initiative has released a new report, “Labor Peace Agreements: Local Government as a Union Advocate.” The report is a comprehensive overview of local “labor peace” legislation that is becoming more commonplace nationwide. The trend noted by the Chamber usually…
Due to the federal government shutdown, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) and the Department of Labor (DOL) have issued contingency plans. These plans set forth what the agencies will and will not do during the shutdown.
The EEOC’s contingency plan states that the EEOC will continue to perform…
