Gilbert Law Summaries on Labor Law
Author:
Green, Michael Z.
Edition:
13th
Copyright Date:
2022
16 chapters
have results for Gilbert Law Summaries on Labor Law
Floating Part Part 2 6 results (showing 5 best matches)
- It has been two decades since the last edition of this summary in 2002. In many ways, key judicial opinions previously decided, especially at the Supreme Court level, continue to provide consistency as to established labor law principles. As a result, many aspects of the summary have not changed in those two decades. The Supreme Court has rarely issued decisions specifically addressing labor law issues since the last edition.
- Prior editions of this Summary were authored by Robert J. Gelhaus and James Oldham. There is no doubt that much of this work has stood the test of time. I am extremely thankful to have such an established platform to contribute to in this 13th edition. With all due respect, I am extremely appreciative of the tremendous work developed by Gelhaus and Oldham and exceptionally honored to take on the mantle in continuing from the legacy they created. I have been inspired by several excellent labor law professors who mentored, taught and guided me in understanding the complexities of this important area of law. As I continue to be a fellow labor law student, I hope this book supplements the important aspects that you will learn from your labor law teachers, the required textbooks and materials they assign, and any treatises or other supplements covering the subject. You should review the materials herein for what they are intended to provide: a summary and comprehensive overview of...
- The most significant changes since the last edition, however, have mostly arisen in key decisions by the NLRB. Board decisions have become increasingly cyclical by reversing precedents decided by a prior Board until being changed again by a subsequent Board. Many who follow labor law may believe the only reason for the differing decisions is the political majority of the Board at the time of the decision. Whether that represents a correct assessment, staying up to date on many of the issues covered in this Summary from transitions to one Board versus another Board when the political party of the President appointing those Board members has also changed will continue to create many challenges. One should check the Board’s rules to stay up to date.
- A few exceptions include some decisions driven most recently by constitutional analysis related to applying First Amendment limits on collecting union dues from public sector employees culminating with Janus v. AFSCME Council (2017). Also, the Court decided recently another public sector case asking whether a California law requiring union access to migrant workers involved an illegal constitutional taking of the employer’s property. Cedar Point Nursery et al. v. Hassid et al. (2021). There was also a Supreme Court decision addressing federal preemption of labor issues. Chamber of Commerce v. Brown (2008). There was another decision finding that undocumented immigrant workers are not entitled to back pay or reinstatement. Hoffman Plastic Compounds, Inc. (2002).
- The Supreme Court also decided a couple of issues related to appointments by the President to positions at the National Labor Relations Board (Board or NLRB). This includes deciding the minimum number of NLRB member appointments necessary to constitute an operational quorum, New Process Steel, L.P. v. NLRB (2010), when the President can make NLRB member recess appointments, NLRB v. Noel Canning (2014), and how an acting NLRB General Counsel’s actions may no longer be valid when the President appoints the person to also serve as the permanent NLRB General Counsel. NLRB v. SW General, Inc. (2017).
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Approach to Exams 16 results (showing 5 best matches)
- Labor law traditionally has been thought to stem from three principal federal statutes: the Wagner Act (“NLRA”), the Taft-Hartley Act (“LMRA”), and the Landrum-Griffin Act (“LMRDA”), all of which are treated in this Summary. Labor lawyers and the courts have been increasingly engaged by the area of equal employment opportunity law and, most recently, by wrongful discharge cases brought under state law as exceptions to the “employment at will” doctrine. In this Summary:
- Labor law governs the process by which workers and management resolve the terms and conditions of employment. It has at least two unique characteristics: It is based almost entirely on enacted during the past 85 years, and it is uniquely American—developing in response to changing social and economic conditions in the United States. (For this reason, the historical background discussed in chapter I of the Summary should help in understanding current statutes and case law.)
- Problems in labor law may be approached by focusing on the (the negotiation or post-agreement stage). Certain factors—such as the use of concerted activity or demands for recognition by rival unions—may be present in either stage, but the applicable law still may depend on the stage of the bargaining relationship.
- are vital to collective bargaining and thus are important policy goals of labor law. Achieving these goals has meant placing limitations on employer interference and upon certain union activities as well.
- If the rights of any party have been infringed, what are the available remedies and procedures, and what are the relative advantages or disadvantages of each? (Considering alternative remedies is very important in analyzing labor law problems since it may lead to the discovery of other violations that were overlooked at first.)
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Chapter Five. Protection of Individual Rights 137 results (showing 5 best matches)
- In addition to being an unfair labor practice under the NLRA, union or employer discrimination on the basis of race may violate the Civil Rights Act of 1866 and on the basis of race and/or sex may violate Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act (as amended in 1972). An employee’s rights under these statutes are p. 203). While civil rights and employment discrimination law plays an important and ever-increasing role in the workplace, it is outside the scope of basic law school courses in labor law—which focus on union organization and collective bargaining—and it is too voluminous to treat adequately in a Labor Law Summary. Accordingly, the discussion in this section merely notes the major pieces of civil rights legislation and the possible impact of the collective bargaining contract on an employee’s rights under that legislation.
- Unlike most other labor law doctrines (which are based on statutes), the duty of fair representation was created by the courts as an accompaniment to the union’s representation rights. Hence the scope of the doctrine is defined by case law rather than by statutory language.
- For your exam, remember that unlike most other labor law doctrines (which are based on statutes), the duty of fair representation was created by the courts—as an accompaniment to the union’s
- However, state “right to work” laws For example, picketing to compel an employer to hire only union labor—illegal under a state “right to work” law and also illegal under federal law ( injunctive relief). Because such picketing violates federal law, the NLRB has
- Title V, “Safeguards for Labor Organizations,” is intended to aid union members in ridding their organizations of corrupt union officials. It does so, in conformity with common law practice, by placing union officers, agents, shop stewards, and other union representatives and employees in a trustee relationship vis-a-vis the union and its members, on union officers. Title V does not spell out such duties in detail, leaving the task of formulating substantive law to the courts. The significant provisions of Title V are as follows:
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Chapter Two. Establishment of the Collective Bargaining Relationship 214 results (showing 5 best matches)
- The term “affecting commerce” means in commerce, or burdening or obstructing commerce or the free flow of commerce, or leading or tending to lead to a labor dispute burdening or obstructing commerce or the free flow of commerce. [NLRA § 2(7)] In short, the standard for “affecting commerce” is the broad Commerce Clause test. ( Constitutional Law Summary.)
- The establishment of a collective bargaining relationship is an important topic on labor law exams. After describing the structure and procedural framework of the NLRB, this chapter covers the two major steps in a collective bargaining relationship (and the likely subjects of exam questions):
- In this and all subsequent areas of labor law, it is important to note the Board’s decisions and whether or not its reasoning has been accepted by the federal courts on appeal.
- Under NLRA section 3(d), the General Counsel has “final authority, on behalf of the Board, in respect to the investigation of charges and issuance of complaints (regarding unfair labor practices), and in respect to the prosecution of such complaints before the Board . . . and such other duties as the Board may prescribe or as may be provided by law.”
- Federal labor laws preempt state defamation laws to the extent that the speech is protected under the NLRA. Hence, defamatory falsehoods stated by an employer in connection with union organizing activities are as defamation under state law—at least where the statements are not coercive and were made
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Chapter One. Background and Foundations of Labor Law 148 results (showing 5 best matches)
- Federal labor law is based primarily on four major pieces of legislation: (i) the
- You probably will not be tested on the historical details of American labor law (although some instructors do touch on this area). Keep in mind, however, that this is a
- Torts Summary.) State courts cannot award damages based on any showing of malice because federal law sets the limit on free speech in labor disputes, and federal law requires a showing of deliberate or reckless falsity. [
- The economic collapse of the 1930s helped complete the transition to a national policy of collective bargaining. “Welfare capitalism” disappeared after 1929, while political power shifted toward farm and labor groups. Under the New Deal, the Norris-LaGuardia Act was followed by the National Industrial Recovery Act (“NIRA”) [48 Stat. 198 (1933)], which set “codes of fair competition” for business and encouraged voluntary collective bargaining by employers. Although the NIRA was declared unconstitutional ( Constitutional Law Summary) and government returned to a policy of competition, the impetus toward collective bargaining continued, culminating in the National Labor Relations Act (Wagner Act) of 1935 (“NLRA”). [49 Stat. 449 (1935)]
- provided that antitrust laws should be construed to prohibit the existence of labor organizations or to prevent labor unions from “lawfully carrying out the legitimate objects thereof.”
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Capsule Summary 135 results (showing 5 best matches)
- Current federal labor law is based primarily on four basic pieces of legislation:
- Whether a person is an employee or an independent contractor depends on whether the employer has over the worker’s job performance and duties. There is some debate about the extent or limits on that should be considered in determining whether the worker is an independent contractor. This issue is an ongoing debate that extends beyond labor law due to technological transformations in a gig-based economy.
- BACKGROUND AND FOUNDATIONS OF LABOR LAW
- HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF PRESENT LABOR LAW
- STATUTORY FOUNDATIONS OF PRESENT LABOR LAW
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Chapter Four. Strikes, Boycotts, and Picketing 109 results (showing 5 best matches)
- The constitutional protection afforded picketing depends on the purposes for which it is used and the manner in which it is conducted. To be constitutionally protected, the picketing must be conducted in a Constitutional Law Summary]
- What is considered a “serious” unfair labor practice against which a union may strike notwithstanding a no-strike provision is determined on a case-by-case basis. Generally, it would be wise for you to discuss the the unfair labor practice has on the collective-bargaining agreement and on union representation.
- not involve a controversy over “wages, hours or conditions of labor, discipline or discharge of an employee, or the employment of nonunion labor,” nor was it a sympathetic strike “in aid of others engaged in any such controversy.”
- when it violates federal law ( an unfair labor practice) or state legislation or judicial decisions. [ —upholding contempt convictions against pickets who violated state court injunction banning picketing aimed at forcing employer to hire blacks in proportion to his customers, although state policy against such involuntary employment on racial lines was expressed in judicial decisions rather than statute]
- On your exam, don’t be fooled by a striker who, based on what his union told him, reasonably believes he is striking to protest an unfair labor practice. He still runs the risk of being replaced
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Chapter Three. Collective Bargaining 152 results (showing 5 best matches)
- also known as the Federal Arbitration Act, or “FAA”—provides specific, though limited, grounds for judicial review of arbitration awards, such as partiality or corruption on the part of the arbitrator or (most relevant to modern law) “where the arbitrators exceeded their powers.” In deciding a question of arbitrability under a collective bargaining agreement, the Supreme Court has cited both LMRA § 301 and FAA cases. [ , the Court emphasized that the LMRA § 301 and the FAA involve two distinct enforcement regimes with cases pertaining to separate laws. Because involved the enforcement of an arbitration clause in a labor agreement, the Court explained that it was merely discussing FAA precedents because “they employ the same rules of arbitrability that govern labor cases.” The Court in
- Once the bargaining unit and representative have been determined, the bargaining process must begin. The give and take of collective bargaining is relied upon to achieve economic stability and growth, and American labor law is designed to implement the process wherever possible.
- replacements (conflicting case law whether this is per se an unfair labor practice). An employer may
- Non-Labor Law Situation—Rights Waived
- Labor Law Situation—“Clear and Unmistakable Waiver” Required
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Labor Law 1 result
Title Page 2 results
SummaryofContents 9 results (showing 5 best matches)
Review Questions and Answers 83 results (showing 5 best matches)
- Labor unions are generally exempt from the antitrust laws unless they combine with nonlabor groups to restrain trade or commerce. True or false?
- Despite the apparent congressional purpose to this effect, the courts read the statute so narrowly when applied to labor that there was no meaningful exemption from the antitrust laws for such activity. [pp. 8–9]
- The remainder of federal labor law is aimed at creating a setting conducive to the proper functioning of the bargaining system and to employee self-organization. [pp. 22–23]
- The National Labor Relations Act of 1935 (“NLRA”) could not be considered a complete labor code because it imposed bargaining obligations only on the employer. True or false?
- If the NLRB refuses to hear unfair labor practice charges with respect to an election, the aggrieved party is foreclosed as a practical matter from a judicial ruling on the propriety of the election. True or false?
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Index 86 results (showing 5 best matches)
Exam Questions and Answers 24 results (showing 5 best matches)
- Whether Widget could instead discharge the employees and hire permanent replacements depends on whether the walkout is deemed to be an unfair labor practice strike or an economic strike. The prior discussion in answer to part 1 of this question (above) would apply here. unfair labor practices in unilaterally discontinuing the bonus, it cannot permanently replace its employees. But if no serious unfair labor practice is found (and this may well be the case, given the nature of the dispute), the employees are economic strikers who be permanently replaced. Note, however, that the employees must still be retained on Widget hiring lists and given nondiscriminatory consideration for future job openings (unless they have engaged in violence or other flagrant misconduct). [pp. 164–167]
- Eight of the 16 employees elected to stay on the job at the store. The other eight, believing that their rights had been violated, filed unfair labor practice charges under sections 8(a)(1), 8(a)(3), and 8(a)(5) against both Archer and Dart. After an investigation, the NLRB issues a complaint on all three charges.
- Whatever the outcome on unfair labor practice charges by the union, it can probably get the election set aside on the grounds that Buggy’s actions upset the laboratory conditions necessary for such an election. The Board’s rules in this area have changed frequently, but given the closeness of the vote in this case, a new election would probably be ordered. [pp. 56–61]
- Whether Dart Bros. had a duty to bargain with the Archer employees, despite the disclaimer in its purchase contract, turns on the successorship doctrine, and more specifically, on the application of the were invited to remain, and those who left did so because of the alleged unfair labor practices of Dart and/or Archer in changing the terms and conditions of their employment. Thus, one can find the necessary “continuity in work force” to require that Dart recognize and bargain with the union, despite the disclaimer, and its failure to do so would be an unfair labor practice. It should be noted, however, that Dart is not required to honor the entire
- Assume you are the administrative law judge assigned to hear the case. What recommendations would you make on the charges?
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- Publication Date: September 1st, 2022
- ISBN: 9781636598789
- Subject: Labor Law
- Series: Gilbert Law Summaries
- Type: Outlines
- Description: The topics covered in this Labor Law summary are statutory foundations of present labor law (including National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), Taft-Hartley, Norris-LaGuardia Act, and Landrum-Griffin Act), organizing campaigns, selection of the bargaining representative, collective bargaining (including negotiating the agreement, lockouts, administering the agreement, grievances and arbitration), strikes, boycotts, and picketing. Other topics include concerted activity protected under the NLRA addressing newer issues regarding email solicitations and employer policy and work rules violations, "right to work" laws, discipline of union members, election of union officers, and corruption.
