Labor Relations / Unions

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.

L.A. employee unions sue over 2010 furloughs

04/20/2011

The International Union of Operating Engineers and Local 721 of the Service Employees International Union are suing the city of Los Angeles in the wake of last summer’s mandatory furlough of thousands of municipal employees.

Covered by union agreement? Its terms govern all contracts

04/14/2011

Employees covered by a collective bargaining agreement can’t claim additional quasi-contractual rights, as the following case shows.

The labor law waiting to trip you up–even if you’re not unionized!

04/12/2011

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. Here’s a compliance primer.

NLRB ruling revisited: Can employees really trash you on Facebook?

04/05/2011

Don’t read too much into the NLRB’s recent “Facebook rant” ruling. Despite much employer hand-wringing, the decision didn’t give employees a free pass on social media posts. They still don’t have license to defame, disparage or otherwise trash their company, management, product or co-workers. Here’s why.

The HR I.Q. Test: April ’11

04/04/2011

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

Somerset prison guard union talks headed to arbitration

03/29/2011

Forty Somerset County prison guards will continue to work under the terms of a contract that expired at the end of 2010 while they and the county take contract negotiations to arbitration. The county has asked the guards to accept concessions on either wages or health benefits.

Comparing paychecks: Can we prohibit it?

03/25/2011

Q. You recently wrote that the National Labor Relations Act gives employees the legal right to discuss their pay with one another. Our office policy has always been that we do not allow this. Are we within our legal rights to prohibit it? We are a private medical practice with 88 employees and four offices.