Quirky Question # 177, Regulating Speech in Union Organizing Campaigns
Question: I work for a company called Star Registered, Inc. We employ sales employees who perform door-to-door direct sales. Customers can register stars to their names (we copyright the name with the...
View ArticleQuirky Question # 186: Can Arbitration Agreements Ban Class Claims?
Question: For many years, our company has required all employees to sign a contract agreeing to arbitrate any employment claims, including discrimination claims. Last year we changed our form contract...
View ArticleAnother Social Media Report by the NLRB Offers Needed Guidance for Employer...
Another Social Media Report by the NLRB The National Labor Relations Board released its second Social Media Report in January of this year providing the General Counsel’s analysis of 14 challenged...
View ArticleQuirky Question #198, Employee Handbooks and At Will Employment
Question: A friend just told me that we have to revise our Employee Handbook. He claims we no longer can say that our employees are employed “at will.” They are. Why can’t we say it? Answer: You ask a...
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Quirky Question #206, NLRB
Question: I discovered one of my employees announced on Facebook that our company is a horrible place to work and she is just “coasting” and waiting to be fired. Normally, I would just fire her, but...
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Quirky Question #229, The Not-Clear-Cut Case for Canning a Cussing Worker
Question: I’m the owner of a small record store. I have 13 sales clerks and 4 back room employees. Things aren’t great these days – but we get by. Fortunately, while people listen to music on their...
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Quirky Question #241, Working for Free In Montana At A Start-Up Business
Question: I was laid off by my Montana employer and I have decided to help my brother with his start up business. I will be a 50% owner but we are not going to take a salary until revenue is...
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Quirky Question #245, Last chance agreements
Question: We operate a manufacturing plant with a union workforce where new employees begin with a 90-day probationary period during which they are not yet members of the union. I recently hired a guy...
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NLRB Published Report Concerning Employee Handbook Rules and Policies
On March 18, 2015, NLRB General Counsel Richard Griffin published a Report concerning recent case developments arising in the context of employee handbook rules and policies. The thirty-page Report...
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Quirky Question #265, Can I have an English-Only Policy?
Question: Our Company may implement a policy that requires employees to speak in the English language. What risks should we be aware of? Marilyn Clark Jessie Mischke Answer: By Marilyn Clark and...
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Quirky Question #269: Like it or Not – Facebook Post Protected Under the NLRA
Question: I own a small manufacturing company that employs 25-35 employees, depending on our workload. Over the years, a number of my customers and my employees have “friended” me on Facebook. Last...
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Quirky Question #279: Concerted Activity in 140 Characters or Less
Question: I am a manager in a medium-sized retailer that has locations and employees in 16 states. The company maintains a social media policy, which was recently updated. Last week, I noticed that...
View ArticleSecond Circuit Holds Pro-Union Sentiment Outweighs Impropriety of...
Use of profanity by employees, whether in the workplace, outside the workplace, or on social media, presents difficult legal issues for the employer, as highlighted by a recent Second Circuit Court of...
View ArticleLitigation may be Key in Response to Rising Denials of Employment-Based...
Many U.S. employers have recently experienced frustration over legal obstacles to keeping high quality foreign-national employees. These valuable employees have often been with the company since...
View ArticleWhat Do Employers Need to Know Following the Passage of California’s New Law...
On September 18, 2019, Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law Assembly Bill 5, which clarifies when workers should be considered “employees” under the California Labor Code and the California...
View ArticleAs States Reopen, Can Employees Refuse to Return to Work Based on Fear of...
As many states progress through different phases of reopening, companies are preparing for their employees to return to work. Employers are also noting, however, that some states are seeing COVID-19...
View ArticleHow the NLRA Applies to All Workplaces, Not Just Unionized Ones: Implications...
When the subject of the National Labor Relations Act (the “NLRA,” or, more succinctly, the “Act”) is broached, employment lawyers often hear a familiar refrain: “The Act doesn’t apply to me because my...
View ArticleCan employers require employees to accept confidentiality and...
Employee reductions and terminations are an unfortunate result of economic downturns. Even during good economic times, many companies face the need to reduce their workforce or terminate the employment...
View ArticleThe NLRB Reverses Course (again) on Employee Outbursts and Protected...
What happens when an employee starts yelling at the boss, makes profane social media posts about work, or engages in other “abusive conduct?” In many cases, employers can follow their own policy and...
View ArticleThe General Counsel for the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”), Jennifer...
Abruzzo has been busy. Within the last few months, she has issued two notable memorandums that could have significant impacts on how employers must comply with the National Labor Relations Act...
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