Employers are pleasantly surprised when I tell them that bargaining for a collective bargaining agreement does not mean that every part of running their business must be negotiated. I then explain what a management rights clause is – a blog entry for a later day – and the difference between mandatory, permissive, and illegal subjects of bargaining.…

Non-Compete agreements between an employer and its bargaining unit employees are a mandatory subject of bargaining. However, employers do not need to bargain with the union representing those employees before signing agreements with third party companies to not hire the employer’s bargaining unit employees.   In Duke Energy Indiana, the union represented the employer’s linemen…

If a company has a union, does the employer have to negotiate with the union before changing or implementing safety policies?  Yes. A company violated labor law when it unilaterally implemented a policy at a manufacturing facility that required workers to wear flame-resistant clothing at all times. Prior to the implementation of that policy, employees did not have…

Companies whose employees are represented by a labor union are required to bargain with the union before changing most any term or condition of employment. An Illinois food processing company should have bargained with the union representing its employees before enrolling in the federal government’s E-Verify program. E-Verify is a web-based system that allows participating…

A union representing employees of Rite Aid’s New York and New Jersey stores filed a complaint alleging that the company illegally insisted, as a condition of reaching a contract, that the union agree to remove newly hired interns and pharmacists working in New York stores from the bargaining unit. Rite Aid contended that is proposal…

ValleyCare Trumbull Memorial Hospital notified the Service Employees International Union District 1199, covering nurses who work at the Hospital, of its intent to transition to a nurse staffing model that uses only registered nurses (RN) and nursing assistants. The Hospital will lay off over 40 licensed practical nurses (LPN). LPNs have typically received an associate…