With apologies to David Letterman, we are often asked by CUE members and others where the average HR professional can go to keep up with developing trends in labor relations and labor law. With all the recent changes coming down from the National Labor Relations, I though it might be useful to publish a listing of some of the labor relations resources we follow every week here at CUE. Here is a list of ten resources to watch.
The first source everyone should pay attention to is the National Labor Relations Board agency web site. There is an unbelievable amount of information to be found on this site, including search tools and data bases. You can also subscribe to agency newsletters.
Following these resources can help any HR professional gain a head start on keeping current with developing labor relations issues like:
Protected concerted activity – the Board has raised their level of attention on all kinds of protected, concerted activity but have exerted special focus on non-union employees working in service sector industries.
“Quickie elections” – new rules were implemented on April 14th, 2015 and have significantly shortened the election cycle.
Joint employer – the Board recently issued the controversial Browning Ferris decision which revised the joint employer status making it more risky for employers. and they are currently reviewing numerous complaints and charges against McDonald’s USA, LLC, McDonald’s USA franchisees, and/or McDonald’s franchisees and their franchisor, McDonald’s USA, LLC as joint employers.
Handbooks, Overbroad Confidentiality Policies – it’s illegal to prohibit discussion of wages, many other types of confidential info, and the NLRB is looking for these kinds of violations, which many employers experience due to lack of training on labor matters.
Micro-unions – in which a small group of employees inside your business are allowed to form a union without including all employees at a location. Imagine the servers at a restaurant in a union, while the kitchen staff might not be.
CUE can help. This is something that is happening right now. You can’t afford to ignore it. Click here for more information or assistance.