As we noted last week, American labor law contains many "traps for the unwary,"--------principles of law that pose dire consequences for employers who act without obeying the law affecting their conduct. These traps affect both unionized and non-union employers. Last week, on MMM we set out a short TRUE/FALSE quiz to focus on some of these traps. Here are the answers:
1. In response to active union organizing, it is a "best practice" and lawful for an employer to quickly develop and implement an effective "NO SOLICITATION/NO DISTRIBUTION POLICY".
FALSE. It is a serious mistake to wait until organizing starts before implementing a no-solicitation policy. In fact it is per se unlawful to do so. Instead your company should have adopted such policies well in advance of any organizing in order to control your own private property and maintain a proper business environment free from improper union encroachment.
2. Supervisors and managers can tell employees that the employer will shut down its operations if a union gets into the company.
FALSE. It is a serious violation of the NLRA to do so. Yet an employer and its agents can carefully and lawfully explain the adverse consequences of unionization.
3. A company that has a collective bargaining contract need not bargain with the union before it moves bargaining unit work to another location during the term of the contract.
FALSE. Again this is a very serious violation of the NLRA. At the very least the employer needs to bargain over the effects of the decision and may have the bargain the decision to move the work itself if the relocation is driven by labor costs.
4. A company that has a collective bargaining contract need not bargain with the union before it shuts down its operations during the term of the contract.
FALSE. Again this is a very serious violation of the NLRA. At the very least the employer needs to bargain over the effects of the decision, and may have the bargain the decision to close the operation if the decision to do so is driven by labor costs
5. A company that has a collective bargaining contract need not bargain with the union before it implements a drug testing policy.
FALSE. Implementation of drug testing is a mandatory subject of bargaining and is required unless the union has unequivocally waived the right to bargain.
6. A company can prohibit employees from using its email system to solicit other employees to join a union.
FALSE. This remains a contentious area and a NLRB decision which granted employees and union broad rights in this area is under review. So, any curtailment of employee use of the system, especially during non-working time, should be carefully scrutinized.
7. If a union representative comes to a company with union authorization cards signed by all of the employees that work at the company and demands to be recognized, that company must recognize and bargain with the union within 30 days.
FALSE. An employer has the right to request that the NLRB conduct a secret ballot election to determine whether its employees ACTUALLY WANT A UNION OR NOT.
If you or your company need additional information about these important matters or assistance with developing a preventative program let us know.
