The 2018 CCIC Annual Member Forum
June 12, 2018
Quinnipiac University, North Haven Campus
8:15 AM – 1:00 PM EDT
Gary Starr and Jarad Lucan
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Webinar: Are You at Risk? An In-Depth Look at Workplace Sexual Harassment Prevention and Company Culture
Join Shipman & Goodwin labor and employment attorneys Daniel Schwartz, Jarad Lucan and Ashley Marshall for this complimentary CLE webinar where they will explore
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Register Now for Sexual Harassment Prevention Training – 2018 Schedule
Don’t wait until it’s too late. There are steps you can take now to protect you and your business from costly litigation. The programs outlined
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Student Teaching Assistant Handbooks Unlawful? Maybe.
Two years ago we reported on the case before the National Labor Relations Board (the “Board”) related to the Northwestern University’s scholarship football players seeking the right to unionize. The Regional Director in that case determined that the players were employees under the National Labor Relations Act (the “NLRA”) and therefore could vote to be represented by a Union in connections with negotiating terms and conditions of employment with the University. Ultimately, the Board refused to exercise jurisdiction over the players and therefore left open whether they are employees under the NLRA or not. At the time we reported on the case, we discussed some of the impacts of the decision beyond the ability of players to unionize, including that the Board may scrutinize the University’s policies to see if those policies complied with the NLRA. More specifically, whether the policies were written in a way that would either expressly or implicitly prevent the players from engaging in protected concerted activity. Apparently, someone did challenge the “Football Handbook” and on September 22, 2016, The Board’s Office for the General Counsel issued an advice memorandum related to that charge advising against the issuance of a complaint.
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Student Assistants are now Considered Statutory Employees under the NLRA
In its 2004 Brown University decision, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) held that graduate student teaching assistants were not employees because they were “primarily
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The Complaint Over Lunch With the Boss As Protected Activity
Is a non-union employee who speaks out about employment matters protected by the National Labor Relations Act? If so, under what circumstances? That question is critically important because if the employee is protected and is fired, the employer may have to reinstate him, pay back pay, and post a notice that the employer violated employee rights.
The answers are not so simple. Was the employee griping to management about work? Did he take any action to mobilize employees to support him? Was he seeking to induce group or collective action?
A recent Third Circuit appeals court addressed this situation. A computer engineer went to lunch with his boss and three co-workers to build team spirit, as the company was aware that it was understaffed and wanted to bolster morale. During lunch the computer engineer complained that there were too few engineers to do all the work and that the company should have hired more engineers rather than a $400,000 per year executive, whom he named. Two employees at the lunch agreed.Continue Reading The Complaint Over Lunch With the Boss As Protected Activity
Can Graduate Student Assistants Unionize?
In 2004, the NLRB found that graduate student assistants at Brown University who performed services in connection with their studies were not employees and thus
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NLRB Strikes Down Policy Prohibiting Recordings by Employees
The National Labor Relations Board (“Board”) finished the 2015 year in the same way it started: With continued scrutiny of seemingly neutral employer policies. The
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The NLRB Weighs In on Faculty Unions for Religiously-Affiliated Schools
Back on December 16, 2014 the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”), in its Pacific Lutheran University decision, announced a new standard for the exercise of
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Can You Lawfully Prohibit Secret Recordings in the Workplace?
It is a safe bet that most if not all of your employees own a mobile or smart phone. It is also a safe bet that those phones have the capability of capturing pictures, taking video and recording conversations. That said, it is almost a certainty that one or more of your employees will use his or her phone to secretly record conduct or conversations in the workplace. When that happens, can you lawfully discipline the employee? Many times the answer is “yes,” particularly in a school setting and when there are clear policies or practices in place prohibiting such conduct. Other times, however, the answer is not clear. Rather, the answer depends on why the employee was making the recording and what law applies if an employee challenges the discipline as being unlawful.
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