Bargaining

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Under a typical election scenario, a union files an election petition with the Board’s Regional Office, along with a “showing of interest” demonstrating enough employee support (at least 30% of the unit described in the petition) to justify an election. The union also serves the petition on the employer, along with a description of Board procedures, informing parties of their rights and obligations in the process, and a “statement of position” form.Continue Reading Employers Have New Obligations when the Union Demands Voluntary Recognition

Construction Site Sillouhette with Multiple Cranes at Sunset

On February 4, 2022, President Biden issued Executive Order 14063, requiring certain federal construction contractors and subcontractors “to negotiate or become party to a project labor agreement with one or more appropriate labor organizations.”

The EO’s Project Labor Agreement (PLA) requirement applies to “large-scale construction projects,” defined to include domestic federal construction projects “for…

On November 5, 2021, the U.S. Department of Labor, through the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), issued an Emergency Temporary Standard to Protect Workers from Coronavirus (ETS). The ETS covers employers with 100 or more employees—firm or company-wide—and provides options for compliance. The ETS requires covered employers to develop, implement, and enforce a mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policy. Alternatively, covered employers may adopt a policy requiring employees to choose between vaccination and regular COVID-19 testing and wearing a face covering at work. The ETS also requires covered employers to provide up to four hours of paid time to workers to get vaccinated and to allow for paid leave to recover from side effects.
Continue Reading Vaccine Mandates May Require Collective Bargaining

In this week’s edition of our “Funny You Should Ask” series, Tom Godar and Terry Potter discuss whether there’s a need to bargain before imposing a mandate that employees are fully  vaccinated against COVID-19 before reporting to work: https://www.healthcarelawinsights.com/2021/05/funny-you-should-ask-is-a-vaccine-mandate-subject-of-bargaining/

Business People Handshake Greeting Deal Concept

When a workforce organizes a union and a labor contract is still months away, human resource issues continue to arise. Often the issue turns on whether the employer has an obligation to bargain with the new union prior to the imposition of workplace discipline. Prior to 2016, under long-settled case law, employers had no statutory…

COVID-19 presents a formidable health and safety challenge to employers, and unionized employers also must address issues in the context of their obligations under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) and a collective bargaining agreement. The broad range of issues includes both mandatory subjects of bargaining and business decisions that impact the employees of the bargaining unit. Such issues include health and safety concerns, attendance and staffing issues, wage and hour issues, leave issues, changes in work schedules, layoffs, and temporary reductions in hours or closure of the business to reduce infection rates. Missteps in effectuating these major changes can lead to violations of the NLRA and an increase in the incidence of workers refusing to work. Employer’s ability to navigate these issues successfully requires an understanding of their rights under both the collective bargaining agreement and federal law in this novel situation. Here are some key considerations and proactive measures employers can take to facilitate timely and decisive employment actions.
Continue Reading Labor Relations Issues and COVID-19: Avoiding NLRA Violations through Proactive Measures

From Justice Kagan’s observation that a decision in favor of the plaintiff could affect millions of public sector workers to Justice Alito’s surprise at seeing a union brief include an argument that the Constitution originally did not grant public employees free speech rights, the U.S. Supreme Court was full of impassioned discourse during Monday’s…

In an unpublished decision, which issued on May 3, 2016, the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia made it clear that there was a “fundamental and long-running disagreement” between the Court and the Board as to the appropriate approach by which to determine whether an employer had violated Section 8(a)(5)…

The acting general counsel for the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), Lafe Solomon, has addressed a number of workplace topics, including social media policies, at-will employment statements and class action waivers in arbitration agreements. In addition, a new NLRB webpage describes the rights of employees, even if they are not in a union. Both of…