Union Pension Withdrawal Liability can Attach to Asset Purchaser

Last week I discussed how withdrawal liability can attach to a company that does not have a union. Today, is how withdrawal liability can attach to asset purchasers of a company that contributes to underfunded pension plans through the doctrine of successor liability. Most of you will stop reading now…. Penn Traffic Company (“PT”) operated…
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NLRB Seeks to Expand Protected Concerted Activity Definition for Social Media Posts

Every week I’m asked how the NLRB deals with employees and social media. Depending on the week, my answer may change. One thing remains constant: disciplining or terminating employees for their social media activity is incredibly fact-specific and the stakes are so high (reinstatement, back pay, expungement of discipline) that a careful review of the…
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Austin Legal Labor Relations Newsletter #3

Welcome to The Labor Leader – a weekly recap of the most valuable content on labor relations from an employer’s perspective. The National Labor Relations Act covers both union and non-union private-sector employers. This newsletter is a digest of my views on labor laws, the National Labor Relations Board, and unions.   Email about Mark…
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Employers Must Prepare for Micro-Union Organizing

Unions are now able to pick just a small group of employees to join their union. Since it is easier to convince 3 out of 5 employees to join a union instead of 30 out of 50 or 300 out of 500 employees, this change should result in skyrocketing petitions for union elections. The easiest…
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Union Pension Withdrawal Liability Attaches to Parking Lot Owner for Free Parking

Every company I represent that has a union pension plan is concerned about withdrawal liability. In a nutshell, withdrawal liability occurs when an employer exits a pension plan and must pay its “proportionate share” of the underfunded plan. Exiting generally occurs when: 1) employers negotiate out of the plan, 2) a company is sold and…
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E-Voting for Union Elections Likely

Last week I posted about the NLRB ordering union-friendly, mail-ballot elections at an increased rate despite in-person voting being the preferred method of elections by previous NLRBs for decades. The current NLRB may be poised to take it one step further and replace mail-ballot elections with an e-voting system. President Obama’s NLRB, in 2010, sought…
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