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06 Jul 2012 NLRB Invalidates Off-Duty Access Rule

Uncategorized | Gerald Lutkus

The National Labor Relations Board continues to slice and dice employer policies and has now ruled that a hospital policy restricting employees’ off-duty access violates Section 8(a)(1) of the NLRA. USC University Hospital in Los Angeles has an Off-Duty Access Policy which provides that:  “Off-duty employees are not allowed to enter or re-enter the interior of the Hospital or any other work areas outside the Hospital except to visit a patient, receive medical treatment or…

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03 Jul 2012 Michigan: PLA Deja Vu All Over Again?

Uncategorized | Gerald Lutkus

Michigan Governor Rick Snyder has signed into law Michigan’s second attempt to regulate mandatory project labor agreements (PLA) on taxpayer-funded construction. Michigan adopted a similar bill in 2011, but a federal district court invalidated it in February 2011 ruling that the Act attempted to regulate a field that was preempted by the National Labor Relations Act.  That decision is on appeal to the 6th Circuit.  A similar ruling on a similar statute in Idaho is also on…

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02 Jul 2012 Supreme Court Asks The Feds to Weigh In On Illinois Union Fees System

Uncategorized | Gerald Lutkus

At the end of a busy week, the United States Supreme Court asked the U.S. Solicitor General to weigh in on an Illinois regulatory system which requires home care workers to pay union fees. The request arises out of the home care workers’ lawsuit which alleges that their classification as public employees (which requires payment of union dues) violates their First Amendment rights. The trial court dismissed their claims and the Seventh Circuit affirmed the dismissal….

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27 Jun 2012 NLRB Orders Bilingual “Shaming”

Uncategorized | Steve Hernandez

On June 25, 2012, the NLRB overruled an ALJ’s rejection of a requested “shaming”  order and required that the CEO of a California employer read its order aloud to company employees in both Spanish and English. In Marquez Brothers Enterprises, found here, the ALJ found that the employer committed multiple unfair labor practices, but concluded that “there is nothing extraordinary about the unfair labor practices committed” and thus did not address the General Counsel’s request for an order requiring a remedial notice…

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26 Jun 2012 NLRB’s Acting General Counsel Addresses Controversial Complaint Regarding At-Will Employment Language and Other Employee Handbook Provisions

Uncategorized | Scott Witlin

On June 11, 2012, NLRB Acting General Counsel, Lafe Solomon, addressed the Connecticut Bar Association, specifically discussing the issuance a complaint in February by Region 28 alleging a multitude of violations arising from the various rules contained in the company’s employee handbook.  Among rules alleged to be in violation of the NLRA was an employee acknowledgment that employment was at-will employment and that at-will status only could be altered by a statement signed by the employee and either the executive vice-president or chief operating…

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22 Jun 2012 “Going Back to School” – NLRB To Review Graduate Student Assistant Issue (Again)

Uncategorized | btlabor

Are graduate student assistants seeking to be represented by a union employees under the National Labor Relations Act?  That is a question the NLRB is intent on answering (again).  The Board has granted review in two cases addressing the issue.  The Board also invited briefs from interested parties, asking, among other things, whether its 2004 decision in Brown University should be overruled. In that case the Board held that graduate student assistants typically were not considered…

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22 Jun 2012 NLRB Weekly Summary of Decisions – June 11-15, 2012

Uncategorized | btlabor

The National Labor Relations Board’s (NLRB) weekly summary of decisions for last week, June 11-15, 2012, is now available on the Board’s website. The summary of NLRB decisions can be accessed by visiting the NLRB’s website. btlaborBT Labor Relations is managed by the labor law attorneys at Barnes & Thornburg. The blog aims to be a source for news, analysis, and commentary on traditional labor legal issues, including news related to the NLRB and a variety of state…

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21 Jun 2012 Supreme Court: Extra Union Dues Must Be Presented On An Opt-In Basis

Uncategorized | btlabor

The United States Supreme Court ruled today that it is unlawful for a public employee union to impose a fee hike to cover political expenses without providing its non-members notice and the opportunity to opt-in to paying the fee. The lawsuit originally was brought by California workers who were not union members, but who still had to pay dues for the union’s representational activities pursuant to an agency shop agreement.  In this context, unions must provide what…

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19 Jun 2012 Mississippi Governor “Concerned” About UAW Organizing in the Southeast

Uncategorized | John Koenig

Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant told a business group Monday he is “concerned” over the UAW’s efforts to organize Toyota and Nissan auto manufacturing plants in his State.  The Memphis Commercial Appeal quoted the Governor saying, “The automobile industry is very fragile, and there’s such great competition out there. That’s what worries me. If the union involvement becomes active in the southeastern automobile corridor, what does it do to industry? And I just don’t see a positive…

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19 Jun 2012 New NLRB Website Describes Rights of Employees To Engage in Protected Concerted Activity

Uncategorized | btlabor

The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has launched an interactive website that describes the rights of employees under the Nation Labor Relations Act (NLRA) to engage in protected concerted activity even if they are not in a union. The page, which is available at www.nlrb.gov/concerted-activity, tells the stories of more than a dozen recent cases involving protected concerted activity. The narratives can be viewed by clicking points on an interactive map of the United States. …

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