Quirky Question #265, Can I have an English-Only Policy?
Question: Our Company may implement a policy that requires employees to speak in the English language. What risks should we be aware of?
Category: Labor Law
NLRB Published Report Concerning Employee Handbook Rules and Policies
On March 18, 2015, NLRB General Counsel Richard Griffin published a Report concerning recent case developments arising in the context of employee handbook rules and policies. The thirty-page Report concludes that many commonly-used policies, if not phrased carefully, may have a chilling effect on Section 7 rights to engage in concerted activity. The policies critiqued by General Counsel Griffin include,...
Quirky Question #245, Last chance agreements
Question: We operate a manufacturing plant with a union workforce where new employees begin with a 90-day probationary period during which they are not yet members of the union. I recently hired a guy who refused to work overtime on several occasions, so I had him sign a “last chance” agreement in which he agreed that any further unexcused refusals...
Quirky Question #241, Working for Free In Montana At A Start-Up Business
Question: I was laid off by my Montana employer and I have decided to help my brother with his start up business. I will be a 50% owner but we are not going to take a salary until revenue is substantial. An accountant friend tells me that my work for free for the start-up may disqualify me for the unemployment...
Quirky Question #229, The Not-Clear-Cut Case for Canning a Cussing Worker
Question: I’m the owner of a small record store. I have 13 sales clerks and 4 back room employees. Things aren’t great these days – but we get by. Fortunately, while people listen to music on their phones and the internet way more than they do CDs, we’ve refocused ourselves toward vintage record collectors and hardware sales. I just fired...
Quirky Question #206, NLRB
Question: I discovered one of my employees announced on Facebook that our company is a horrible place to work and she is just “coasting” and waiting to be fired. Normally, I would just fire her, but our CFO is worried that internet communications between employees in social media can be “protected.” What is the recent law?
Quirky Question #198, Employee Handbooks and At Will Employment
Question: A friend just told me that we have to revise our Employee Handbook. He claims we no longer can say that our employees are employed “at will.” They are. Why can’t we say it?
Another Social Media Report by the NLRB Offers Needed Guidance for Employer Policies
Another Social Media Report by the NLRB The National Labor Relations Board released its second Social Media Report in January of this year providing the General Counsel’s analysis of 14 challenged employer social media policies. The Board last week released another Report reviewing seven additional employer policies. The Board alleged that six of these policies interfered with employees’ rights under...
Quirky Question # 186: Can Arbitration Agreements Ban Class Claims?
Question: For many years, our company has required all employees to sign a contract agreeing to arbitrate any employment claims, including discrimination claims. Last year we changed our form contract to make it clear that any arbitration only would cover the individual employee making the claim. There would be no “class action” arbitrations or anything like that. (We were told by another...
Quirky Question # 177, Regulating Speech in Union Organizing Campaigns
Question: I work for a company called Star Registered, Inc. We employ sales employees who perform door-to-door direct sales. Customers can register stars to their names (we copyright the name with the telescopic coordinates and provide a personalized certificate). We have learned that some of our employees would like to form a labor union, and are now wearing t-shirts during...
