We have a favorite new website here at the Stoel Rives World of Employment: Card Checked: The Game (sorry, failblog.org). Card Checked is an online game where you can play a "young and talented tattoo artist living in America where the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) has become the law of the land." As
Another Circuit Court Agrees: ADA Amendments Act is Not Retroactive
Congress did not intend for the ADA Amendments Act (ADAAA) to be retroactive, the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ruled yesterday, and applied pre-ADAAA law to dismiss an employment discrimination claim. Click here to read the court’s decision in Lytes v. DC Water and Sewer Authority.
Congress passed the ADAAA in 2008 and the
Democrats Delete Card Check from Employee Free Choice Act
According to this article in today’s New York Times, Senate Democrats have dropped the controversial card check provisions from the proposed Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA).
The card-check provision would have allowed unions to organize employees and begin representing them as soon as a majority of employees signed cards saying they wanted a union. Under
Union Civil Wars and EFCA
The NY Times recently ran a story about internal union squabbles, which are hindering organized labor from achieving its political goals. The high profile dispute is between the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) and the National Union of Healthcare Workers (NUHW).
The NUHW broke off from the SEIU and is now trying to take over several bargaining units formerly
Al Franken and EFCA
After months of litigation, Al Franken has been declared the winner of the Senate race in Minnesota. He will be the 60th Democrat in the Senate, which could enable the Democrats to override a filibuster in the Senate.
So the question becomes where does Senator Franken stand on the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA)? Just as a reminder
Federal Minimum Wage Increases to $7.25 Effective July 24
Employers take note: the federal minimum wage increases to $7.25 per hour effective July 24, 2009. For more information, check out the Department of Labor’s Fair Labor Standards Act site.
Of course, many states also have minimum wage laws, an where an employee is subject to both state and federal minimum wage laws, the employee is
Supreme Court Agrees to Hear Case About Meddling International Union
The US Supreme Court just agreed to hear a case asking just how much international unions will be allowed to meddle in the affairs of their local affiliates. In Granite Rock v. Teamsters, the employer sued the International Brotherhood of Teamsters in federal court claiming that the International interfered with the relationship between the employer and
9th Circuit Orders Damages, but Not Reinstatement for Unauthorized Alien Workers
What’s an employer to do when it is ordered to reinstate former employees, but those employees are not legally authorized to work in the United States? Pay liquidated damages instead, according to the Ninth Circuit’s recent decision in NLRB v. C&C Roofing Supply Inc.
In C&C, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) alleged that
Oregon Legislature Bans Mandatory Meetings
A new Oregon bill will prohibit employers from requiring employees to attend mandatory or "captive audience" meetings on, among other topics, labor unions. Governor Ted Kulongoski is expected to sign the bill, which would them become law effective January 1, 2010. Click here to read SB 519.
SB 519 prohibits an employer from taking action against
Labor Unions Targeting Green Energy Development
Labor unions are seeing a rare growth opportunity in green power. Despite the recession, there has been a building boom in green energy, in particular solar and wind projects. As reported recently in the New York Times, labor unions see something in green energy for them as well, and they’re using intense political pressure to get it.