Labor Relations / Unions

Federal contractors: Post ‘Beck’ notice in workplace

06/01/2004

The Labor Department issued final rules last month requiring federal contractors to post notices that inform employees of certain union rights under the Supreme Court’s Communi-cation Workers v. Beck case. Essen-tially, …

Steer the interview back on track if applicant strays

05/01/2004

You know that certain questions are off-limits in a job interview. Just one wrong query, say about a candidate’s marital status or ethnicity, could run afoul of federal sex, age, race, religious, disability or national origin discrimination laws. But what do you do when a candidate volunteers such personal information?

Can you land in trouble for trying to stop harassment? Yes

04/01/2004

You know what they say about good intentions. As the following case shows, if your anti-harassment efforts are seen as an attempt to squash a union-organizing bid, you could be slapped …

Beware labor’s pitch to create union sympathizers

02/01/2004

As AFL-CIO union membership continues to decline, it’s trying another tack: creating an army of nonunionized workers to rally support for its causes. Rather than organizing individual workplaces, this program, dubbed …

Hidden risk: Do your staff committees violate labor law?

01/01/2004

Consider these two scenarios:
1. At the suggestion of a project manager, your organization starts an employee committee to provide workers a voice in safety issues. Management and the safety …

Employees comparing pay? Don’t try to muzzle them

12/01/2003

Issue: About a third of all organizations prohibit employees from discussing pay with one another. Risk: Such confidentiality policies likely violate …

Nonunion firms: Acquaint yourselves with labor-relations law

11/01/2003

Your organization isn’t unionized, so you shouldn’t care about the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), right?
Wrong! The NLRA applies to all employers, including nonunion ones. And the law’s impact …

Nonunion shops: You can be liable for ‘unfair labor practices’

10/01/2003

Before you lash out against workers who rise up against a pay issue or other working condition, stop yourself. The National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) protects employees’ rights to engage in …

You can’t outsource your WARN Act notice obligations

10/01/2003

If your company outsources HR tasks, don’t expect the outside provider to share the rap for a Worker Adjustment Retraining and Notification (WARN) Act violation, the law that requires certain companies …

Unionized or not, beware of ‘unfair labor practices’

10/01/2003

Issue: Punishing workers for protesting work conditions could constitute “unfair labor practices”, even if your work force isn’t unionized.
Risk: Defending an NLRA claim …