2011

NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD REPORT CONCLUDES THAT SOME WORKERS’ FACEBOOK POSTS ARE PROTECTED BY FEDERAL LAW

             The Acting General Counsel of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) issued a report last week discussing the outcome of investigations into fourteen (14) cases involving social media by the federal agency’s Division of Advise.  In four cases of the fourteen, the NLRB found that workers were protected by Section 7 of the National Labor …

NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD REPORT CONCLUDES THAT SOME WORKERS’ FACEBOOK POSTS ARE PROTECTED BY FEDERAL LAW Read More »

NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD PROPOSED RULES WOULD STREAMLINE UNIONIZING

             Earlier this summer, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) proposed new rules regarding workplace unionization elections.  Specifically, the new rules would: provide for electronic filing of election petitions and other documents;  ensure that employees, employers and unions receive and exchange timely information all parties need to understand and participate in the representation case process; standardize …

NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD PROPOSED RULES WOULD STREAMLINE UNIONIZING Read More »

NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD ISSUES FINAL RULE REGARDING NOTIFYING EMPLOYEES OF THEIR COLLECTIVE BARGAINING RIGHTS

            The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has issued a final rule requiring most private-sector employers to notify employees of their rights under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) by posting a notice.  This rule is scheduled to take effect on November 14, 2011.              The notices explain the right to unionize under federal law, …

NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD ISSUES FINAL RULE REGARDING NOTIFYING EMPLOYEES OF THEIR COLLECTIVE BARGAINING RIGHTS Read More »

WHEN IS PRE-EMPLOYMENT TRAINING COMPENSABLE?

            Pre-employment training is a generally not covered by the FLSA, and thus not compensable.  Depending on the structure of such a program, its participants may not even considered “employees”, and thus may not be covered by the FLSA.  That determination will depend on all the circumstances surrounding the individual’s “training.”             The United States …

WHEN IS PRE-EMPLOYMENT TRAINING COMPENSABLE? Read More »

JUDGE CONCLUDES THAT AN EX-EMPLOYEE’S ACCUSATIONS ARE PROTECTED BY FIRST AMENDMENT

          A New York State Court judge on Long Island has held that a former employee has a First Amendment right to disseminate his claim that his former employer had lost personal data about its customers.              The case arose from an employment dispute.  In July, 2008, Cambridge Who’s Who Publishing (“Cambridge”), a Uniondale, Long …

JUDGE CONCLUDES THAT AN EX-EMPLOYEE’S ACCUSATIONS ARE PROTECTED BY FIRST AMENDMENT Read More »

THE NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD PLANS COMPLAINT AGAINST EMPLOYER IN A CASE INVOLVING TWITTER

          In a first-of-its-kind case, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has informed an employer, Thomson Reuters, that it plans to file a civil complaint against that company for reprimanding an employer over a Twitter posting she had sent criticizing management of the company.               The NLRB asserts that the company violated the employee’s right …

THE NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD PLANS COMPLAINT AGAINST EMPLOYER IN A CASE INVOLVING TWITTER Read More »

RESTAURANT OWNERS FACE CRIMINAL CHARGES FOR HIRING AND PAYING ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS OFF-THE-BOOKS

          Two owners of a Mexican restaurant chain in the Southwest were arrested last week and charged in federal court of knowingly hiring illegal immigrants as kitchen workers and committing tax fraud by paying them off-the-books.  Specifically, the charges range from the unlawful hiring and harboring of illegal aliens to conspiracy to defraud the IRS …

RESTAURANT OWNERS FACE CRIMINAL CHARGES FOR HIRING AND PAYING ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS OFF-THE-BOOKS Read More »

UNITED STATES SUPREME COURT RULES THAT VERBAL COMPLAINTS REGARDING WAGE VIOLATIONS ARE PROTECTED UNDER THE FAIR LABOR STANDARDS ACT

            In late March, 2011, in a case entitled Kasten v. Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics Corp., the Supreme Court held that employees who make complaints to their employers regarding wage violations, even verbal ones, are protected under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).              The case arose after an employee made complaints to his former employer …

UNITED STATES SUPREME COURT RULES THAT VERBAL COMPLAINTS REGARDING WAGE VIOLATIONS ARE PROTECTED UNDER THE FAIR LABOR STANDARDS ACT Read More »