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What a year it's been for the National Labor Relations
Board! Under the guise of preserving workers' rights under
Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act, which includes the
broad right "to engage in [ ] concerted activities for the
purpose collective bargaining or other mutual aid or
protection," the NLRB has:
Invalidated a policy prohibiting employees from making
statements that "damage the Company, defame any individual or
damage any person's reputation" was overly broad, in that
it would "reasonably tend to chill employees" in the
exercise of their Section 7 rights to protest working conditions
(read
more);
Found that a company's blanket policy of requesting
participants in an internal investigation to keep the investigation
confidential improperly infringes on employees' Section 7
rights (read
more);
Weighed in on employers' social media policies (read
more and
more); and
Otherwise sought to expand its considerable influence over both
unionized and non-unionized workplaces (read
more).
Recently, in Karl Knauz Motors, Inc., the NLRB
expanded its protection of workers' Section 7 rights yet again,
finding that a company's policy, whereby employees were
expected to be courteous, was overbroad and invalid. The
specific policy at issue stated that:
Courtesy is the responsibility of every employee. Everyone is
expected to be courteous, polite and friendly to our customers,
vendors and suppliers, as well as to their fellow employees. No one
should be disrespectful or use profanity or any other language
which injures the image or reputation of the [Company].
Because there were no disclaimers in the handbook that
explicitly allowed discourteous behavior when such behavior was
used to object to or criticize working conditions, the NLRB found
that the mere existence of the policy constituted an unfair labor
practice.
The NLRB will continue to dissect employer policies, as it
continues to seek to protect workers' right to complain.
Policies and handbooks should be reviewed carefully, and revised if
they could be interpreted in a way that the NLRB might perceive as
"chilling" employees' right to engage in concerted
protected activity.
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A female employee traveling for her employer met a "friend" and at her motel room with him became "injured whilst engaging in sexual intercourse when a glass light fitting above the bed was pulled from its mount and fell on her."
The "just cause" standard has long been a cornerstone of traditional labor law (under many collective bargaining agreements, employees generally cannot be discharged except with "just cause").
The Affordable Care Act provides employees who are not offered health coverage by their employers with the option of purchasing health coverage through new health insurance marketplaces (also known as health insurance exchanges) that will operate in every state.
Beginning in 2014, the Affordable Care Act will require "large" employers to offer their full-time employees healthcare coverage that meets certain standards or pay a penalty.
The Affordable Care Act’s employer shared responsibility rules will require large employers to make an offer of minimum essential coverage to at least 95% of their full-time employees or pay a non-deductible excise tax on all their full-time employees.
The Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) defines marriage at the federal level as a legal union between one man and one woman and excuses states from any obligation to recognize same-sex marriages recognized in any other state.
Employers have until October 1, 2013, to provide notice to current employees of coverage options available through the Health Insurance Marketplace established under the Affordable Care Act.
Issues After The Election
