Rhode Island General Assembly Passes Paid Sick Leave Law
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Massachusetts Senate Passes Pregnant Workers Fairness Act
NNU Ebola “Day of Action” Slated for November 12, 2014
Registered nurses in 16 states and the District of Columbia are planning a national “Day of Action” by engaging in strikes, picketing, leafleting, rallies, and candlelight vigils on Wednesday, November 12, in support of demands by National Nurses United (“NNU”) for tougher Ebola safety precautions in the nation’s hospitals. As we reported previously, NNU has launched a multi-pronged campaign to achieve increased training and protection for nurses who may be called upon to treat Ebola…
Ebola and Potential Labor Relations Issues
The Ebola panic presently sweeping the U.S. raises a host of potential issues for employers. We recently provided guidance to help employers ensure employee safety while also complying with legal obligations under the Americans with Disabilities Act and similar laws. In addition, the Occupational Health & Safety Administration (OSHA) recently released a comprehensive summary of requirements, recommendations and guidelines for employers and workers. The escalating concern over Ebola also raises potential labor relations issues. …
New Massachusetts Law Entitles Employees to Domestic Violence Leave
Release of 2012 Advice Memo Pulls Together Principles Applied by the NLRB in Evaluating Employer Social Media Policies
A 2012 Advice Memo from the National Labor Relations Board’s General Counsel, which was publicly released two weeks ago in response to a Freedom of Information Act request, addresses a number of hot social media topics affecting the workplace. This alert takes a closer look at the Advice Memo, which concludes that portions of Giant Food, LLC’s social media policy, including prohibitions against disclosing confidential or nonpublic information, using Giant’s logo, trademark or graphics, and…
Rhyme or Reason? Trying to Make Sense of the NLRB’s Social Media Cases
Since the NLRB’s Office of the General Counsel (“OGC”) issued the first “Facebook” complaint in American Medical Response of Connecticut, Inc. in October, 2010, dozens of unfair labor practice charges involving social media have been filed, the Acting General Counsel has identified social media cases as a priority, and gallons of electronic ink have been spilled by commentators and the OGC, itself, trying to help employers and their counsel make sense of it all. The…
NLRB to Healthcare Employers Facing a Strike: You Can Ask, But Employees Don’t Have to Tell
In a 2-1 decision issued on June 30, 2011, the NLRB clarified the interplay of the statutory notice requirements of NLRA Section 8(g) with a health care employer’s right to poll individual employees’ intention to report to work during a strike and the employer’s right to enforce neutral work rules requiring patient care employees to provide advance notice of absence. In Special Touch Home Care Services, Inc, 357 NLRB No 2 (2011).pdf, the Board: …
NLRB Issues Complaint in NY Facebook Case
In its latest effort to address social media in the workplace, the National Labor Relations Board announced in a May 18 press release that it had filed a complaint against a New York non-profit organization alleging that it unlawfully terminated five employees who complained about working conditions on Facebook.
According to the complaint filed by Buffalo Regional Director Rhonda Ley, Hispanics United of Buffalo’s termination of five employees who criticized workload and staffing conditions on…
NLRB Acting General Counsel Clarifies Duty to Provide Information in Bargaining
In a May 17 memorandum, NLRB Acting General Counsel Lafe Solomon furnished guidelines to Regional Directors concerning parties’ obligation to provide information in collective bargaining negotiations.
GC Memorandum 11-13 traces the development of two different analytical frameworks for assessing a party’s obligation to provide requested information to its bargaining counterpart. The first applies to cases involving a union request for financial information in response to an employer’s general claim of inability to pay certain wages…