While union organizing is decreasing in so many other parts of the economy, healthcare remains a target.  The Service Employees International Union in particular continues in its efforts to organize healthcare facilities throughout the U.S.  A recent example as to how disruptive such actions can be is set out in a recent settlement agreement reached…

On January 25, 2013, the D.C. Circuit Court invalidated President Obama’s three appointments to the National Labor Relations Board.   The decision in Canning v. NLRB not only calls into question the “recess appointment” power of the President, but could paralyze the NLRB by putting hundreds of decisions in jeopardy.

Presidents have made so-called recess appointments…

On December 12, 2012, the NLRB reversed longstanding precedent in WKYC-TV, Inc., holding that dues checkoff provisions continue in force after the labor contract expires.  (“Dues checkoff”  is the act of deducting union dues from employees’ wages and remitting them to the union.)  This decision overruled Bethlehem Steel, 136 N.L.R.B. 1500 (1962), which…

Recently, the NLRB has issued a number of decisions addressing social media in the workplace as it pertains to employers.  Last month, however, an NLRB judge rendered a decision addressing a Union’s potential liability and responsibilities for social media activities on its own Facebook page.  Interestingly, the judge addressed the posts and comments of the…

The NLRB’s recent decision in Banner Health System, 358 NLRB No. 93 (2012) has tongues wagging, and not just in the blogsphere.  In a controversial decision, the NLRB struck down an employment policy requiring employee confidentiality during workplace investigations.  The Board held that this type of “blanket” policy potentially prevents employees from engaging in…

On September 28, 2012, the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) issued its decision in Karl Knauz Motors, Inc., 358 NLRB No. 164 (2012).  The NLRB affirmed an Administrative Law Judge’s findings that a car dealership did not violate the National Labor Relations Act (“Act”) after it terminated a salesperson for his posts on Facebook.   …

As I was driving in to work the other day, I was listening to a program on National Public Radio regarding the differences in how Eastern and Western cultures tackle the learning process.  In summary, in Eastern cultures, struggle is viewed more as an opportunity versus an indication of failure, unlike Western cultures where the emphasis…

In a 2-1 decision in Sodexo America LLC, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) held recently that the University of Southern California hospital violated Section 8(a)(1) of the National Labor Relations Act by maintaining and enforcing a rule that limited off-duty employee access to the workplace, except for specific purposes.

The policy at issue…