Tag: Collective Bargaining

NLRB’s New Joint-Employer Rule Takes Effect on Feb. 26th…What You Need To Know

The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) adopted a new standard for evaluating joint employers that takes effect February 26, 2024. The rule greatly expands when two or more entities may be considered joint entities. As a result, certain employers will now be mandated to participate in collective bargaining and can be found liable for unfair […]

Shot Through the Heart: Did SCOTUS Give Strikes a Bad Name?

On June 1, 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a decision some have deemed a blow to the right to strike. The 8-1 decision crossed ideological lines, as both conservative and liberal members of the Court either joined the majority opinion or concurred. Strike In August 2017, the collective bargaining agreement between cement manufacturer Glacier […]

Court Upholds Arbitrator’s Reinstatement of Employee Fired for Positive Drug Test

A federal district court in Massachusetts recently issued a decision that serves as a good reminder to employers to review their policies related to employee drug or alcohol use both on and off duty and ensure they are consistently applied. While the case involved a unionized employer, even nonunion employers should review the decision because […]

Freedom of expression during collective bargaining: What are the limits?

by Stéphane Fillion and Laïla Tremblay In Canada, many cases have considered and limited an employer’s freedom of expression during collective bargaining. But what about the freedom of expression of the employees during that period? Is it similarly limited? In Québec (Procureure Générale) v. Commission des relations du travail, division des relations du travail (available […]

Blurred lines: Managers may have right to bargain collectively

by Valérie Gareau-Dalpé In several jurisdictions across Canada, the issue of unionization of managers and supervisors is a thorny one. In many cases, unionization is restricted to “employees,” a definition from which managers are excluded. In the province of Québec, the exclusion is based partly on the potential for conflicts of interest in having managers […]

Strangers at the table: Employers may need to accept observers in collective bargaining

by David McDonald In Canada, collective agreements are generally accessible to the public. Canadian jurisdictions provide mechanisms to file collective agreements with government authorities, and it is not uncommon for the union or the employer to post their agreement on the web. However, the process of bargaining itself is private and typically carefully guarded by […]

‘No good deed’ for Microsoft, others in the high-tech sector

by Leslie E. Silverman There is a common refrain uttered by management lawyers, “No good deed goes unpunished.” Yes, it is cynical, but as employers in the high-tech sector are beginning to discover, it is often true. Currently, Microsoft is dealing with issues as a result of well-intended diversity and corporate social responsibility efforts.  Social […]