Employers often confront the question of whether employees can be disciplined for using social media, such as Facebook, to communicate with other employees about complaints regarding terms and conditions of employment. Frequently some of those communications are expressed in terms that are offensive and disparaging about the employer and/or specific supervisors. In deciding whether employees […]
In recent years, many private sector employers have adopted mandatory arbitration programs for employment disputes, which their employees are required to sign as a condition of employment. Main objectives of those programs are the expeditious resolution of employment disputes and the avoidance of protracted and expensive court litigation. Typically, mandatory employment arbitration programs list the […]
It is well established that, in general, employers, whose employees are represented by a union, commit unfair labor practices by making any material, substantial and significant change regarding most terms and conditions of employment affecting the unionized employees, without first providing the union notice and a meaningful opportunity to bargain about the change to agreement […]
A decision issued last week by the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB” or “Board”) should be noted by employers facing employee general demands for changes in terms and conditions of employment. [1] The NLRB reaffirmed established law that a series of short duration strikes, pursuant to a strategy of returning to work from a strike […]
Approximately one year ago, the United States Supreme Court issued its landmark decision in Epic Systems v. Lewis, 548 U.S. ___ (2018), holding that class action waivers contained in arbitration agreements, including agreements between employers and their employees, are permissible and enforceable. See here. That decision left open, however, the question of: what if the arbitration […]
In its 2014 decision Purple Communications Inc. and Communication Workers of America, the NLRB ruled that employees could generally use employers’ email systems to organize or engage in other concerted activities protected by Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act, overturning board precedent and causing employers everywhere to scramble to update employee handbooks and […]
In a 2015 controversial decision, the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) ruled that, for purposes of federal labor law violations, a business may be deemed a joint employer of another company’s employees if the business had “indirect” control over those employees. The NLRB recently announced that it would roll back on this decision, proposing a […]
