While planning for renegotiating an expiring collective bargaining agreement should commence many months before the contract expires, the actual face-to-face bargaining usually begins about two months before the contract terminates. Renegotiations are sometimes a smoother process than negotiating the first contract because the parties are familiar with each other and their goals. However, if the…

When employers commit unfair labor practices that disrupt pre-election conditions to the point where the National Labor Relations Board determines a free and fair election could not be held, an parties are ordered to bypass a secret ballot election and to immediately begin negotiating a first collective bargaining agreement. There are no automatic rules in…

Illegal aliens who want to sue their employers for unpaid wages should do so in federal court in Arkansas, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, or South Dakota. Not in New York, D.C., or Connecticut. An employer failed to properly complete Form I-9s verifying its workers’ employment eligibility. The workers sued for unpaid minimum and…

Remember when AT&T employees were allowed to wear t-shirts that read “Inmate #….” on the front while making house calls next door to a federal prison? Imagine the freight of people who opened their door thinking that an escaped convict was on their doorstep. Those t-shirts were protected activity because the workers who wore them…

As many of you know, I’ve taken some time off from blogging to have a baby. Well, I didn’t give birth, but I was an empathetic husband who gained my share of baby weight. Unfortunately, my wife’s baby weight is coming off quickly in the 3 weeks since the kid was born, but mine is…

I recently discussed the nominees to the NLRB – but at that time they were just nominees. Now, that they are officially Board Members, let’s take a closer look at what we can expect from the fully staffed Board over the next year or so. After all, this is the first time in more than…