Ambulatory something

The Teamsters are taking it to the streets and passing out leaflets in front of the offices of the attorneys representing an employer in a dispute involving them.

Bad Union

This writer uses the NFL's cancellation of the Hall of Fame game to blame unions. Oh, cancellation of the game and the economic consequences of the lockout are the union's fault. . . .

LMAO! Its a dreadful mis-mash of a piece in the Washington Examiner . . . .

Turn up the heat

Does an employer have the right to turn on heat lamps directed at workers picketing in 99 degree weather? I think we are going to find out.

NFL owners agree to a deal

The NFL's team owners have unanimously agreed to a proposed 10 year contract with the recertified NFLPA which should result in an end to the lockout and teams practicing by the week-end. New Orleans player representative Heath Evans cautions, the players' agreement is not certain. While it appears the economic issues are settled - the owners will not take a slice off the top anymore - Evans claims there are things included in the owners approved deal that the players have never discussed. Also, yesterday the August 7 Hall of Fame game was cancelled.

When the music stops

Labor unions know how to starve the beast too. Here's a post about the trouble orchestras are having due to unionization.

Golf Coach Gimme

Purdham v. Fairfax County Sch. Bd., (4th Cir. Mar. 10, 2011) is an interesting FLSA case involving a public school golf coach who also was employed by the school as a safety and security assistant. The coach claimed he was entitled to overtime for his services as a golf coach. The court determines his duties as a coach were not a condition of continuation in his "day job" and accordingly he was properly deemed a volunteer coach, not an employee. Former Justice Sandra Day O'Connor participated in the unanimous decision.

Let the Hearings Begin

The NLRB will conduct hearings today and tomorrow on its proposed rules to expedite union representation elections.

Boeing Complaint

Former General Counsel to the National Labor Relations Board, Fred Feinstein has posted a piece on Politico characterizing the assault on the decision to issue a complaint in the Boeing case as nothing less than an assault on the rule of law. Its a pretty good statement of a pro-labor argument. Feinstein is not without controversy.

Right to strike

Joe Burns has a pro-labor comment posted at In These Times on the Boeing issue. His point, the opposition to the NLRB's issuance of a complaint is part of the continuing assault on labor's right to strike.

Distracted

Posting has been a bit slow the last few days, attributable to the wind down and season-ending tournaments for the youth sports league to which I volunteer time, Carrollton Boosters. Our season ends Saturday. More on labor and employment law after that.

Keep your family close

The Fifth Circuit has ruled, to be eligible for FMLA leave to care for an injured child, an employee must be in close physical proximity to provide physical or psychological care required for the leave.

Unemployment rises in June

Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reports a slight uptick in unemployment 9.1 to 9.2%.

Employers must verify immigrant legality

Governor Jindal has signed two bills relating to employers obligations to verify aliens may lawfully work for them. The first, HB 342, requires contractors seeking contracts from state and other governmental entities to use the federal E-Verify system. The second bill, HB 646, requires suspension of a business license or permit for the third violation for hiring an illegal immigrant. Under this HB 646 the employer could use E-Verify or the traditional I-9 method of verification. First offense $500 fine per illegal immigrant, second offense $1,000, third offense $2,500.

GINA and ADA record keeping

Title I of the ADA and Title II of GINA limit employer access to medical information. Regardless of whether an employer or an occupational health provider maintains information in paper or electronic files, it must ensure that personal health information about applicants or employees cannot be accessed, except under the circumstances permitted by the statutes. The EEOC has issued an informal opinion letter providing some guidance.

Who is the one city employee with an unsatisfactory 2010 performance evaluation?

Jarvis Deberry has an interesting op ed in the July 3rd Times Picayune. It seems that despite there being more than a few marginal employees working for the City of New Orleans, only 31 of the 4,315 city employees evaluated in 2010 were found to "need improvement." I'm not kidding, 31! And just one received an "unsatisfactory."

I'm not a big fan of employee performance evaluations. I think most employers do a lousy job of the evaluation process. I also think its implausible to believe that a supervisor is going to give a frank evaluation of an employee he/she does not yet want to fire. As long as a supervisor's department or job is dependent on the performance of subordinates, there is an inherent conflict in the evaluation process that plays against fair evaluations. And no, I don't mean unfavorably towards the employee. Only after a supervisor has made a decision to "get rid" of a subordinate can you expect a full accounting of job deficiencies, and sometimes not even then.

Things go bump day or night

Mayor Mitch Landrieu wants to eliminate bumping rights for laid off workers. Under current rules and employee laid off in one department can "bump" an employee with less seniority in a similar position in another post in city government. Private sector employers have long rejected straight seniority as a basis for layoff decisions. Moreover, outside of the context of collective bargaining, bumping rights are rejected as counter-productinve and disruptive.