Until last week, there were a host of leave management issues concerning employees who had tested positive for COVID-19 or were isolating at home. As noted in my blog yesterday, the recently-enacted Families First Coronavirus Response Act has paid leave and sick day provisions that resolve most of those issues, at least on the federal level.
Another federal law employers should have on their COVID-19 radar screen is the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), one of the nation’s oldest employment laws. Passed in 1935, the NLRA regulates the relationships among employees, unions and employers. While most of the law deals with employers whose employees are represented by a union, some sections give rights to unrepresented employees as well and create obligations for their employers. For example, if employees band together to protest unsafe working conditions, the NLRA may protect their right to do so.
I recently wrote an article entitled Coronavirus and the National Labor Relations Act for my On The Labor Front column published by Wolters Kluwers, a a global provider of professional information, software solutions and services, To access that article, click here.