The law surrounding a purchaser’s obligations to the seller’s union is complex. When structured accordingly, purchasers can set initial terms of employment while bargaining a new collective bargaining agreement. Until now, only the purchaser could bind itself to additional obligations to the seller’s union. Now, though, the seller can obligate the purchaser to inherit the…

Cheryl Walton, an employee of the United States Postal Service was, for lack of a better term, a troublemaker. She was loud, aggressive, confrontational, and had a reputation for regularly using profanity. During a meeting with her supervisor she became agitated and cut the meeting short. Upset, Walton shook her finger and yelled, “I can say…

The National Labor Relations Board just severely restricted the law that gives employers the right to permanently replace economic strikers. In its American Baptist Homes decision the Board ruled that it is unlawful for an employer to hire permanent striker replacements where any part of the intent of that decision is to harm the union.…

An employer is only allowed to bargain with a union that has proven it represents a majority of employees in an appropriate bargaining unit. Otherwise the company violates the law by recognizing a non-majority union. This rule on majority status is tricky. If a company thinks a union has lost its majority status it is…

A company announced its intent to make changes to existing policies, specifically, its work rules, absenteeism policy, and progressive discipline policy, which were maintained outside of the collective bargaining agreement. Upon learning of this, the union asked to meet and requested information regarding the proposed changes. The company agreed to the meeting, but made clear…

In Boch Honda the employer maintained a handbook policy that prohibited customer-facing employees from wearing, among other things “message” pins. NLRB ALJ determined that the employer’s interests in workplace safety and preventing damage to vehicles met the special circumstances standard and justified the ban. As it’s prone to do, the NLRB reversed the ALJ and determined…