Adam Santucci

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Many watched intently in early February as the political theater unfolded in Madison, Wisconsin when Republican Governor Scott Walker proposed legislation to limit the collective bargaining rights of most state government employees. In a matter of days, the Capitol would be swarming with protesters and demonstrators on both sides of the issue. What followed was weeks of sit-ins in the Capitol, a mass walkout by all 14 Democratic State Senators to block a vote on the proposed law, the unprecedented recall elections of 6 Republican and 3 Democratic state lawmakers and a bitterly fought campaign to unseat an incumbent State Supreme Court Justice widely viewed as a pro-Walker.

Observers on both sides generally agree though that the movement to reform public sector collective bargaining rights has invigorated the debate on the role of unions in today’s uncertain economic climate.
Continue Reading The State of State Unions: A Year in Review

The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) recently distributed scheduling letters throughout the Mid-Atlantic Region. The OFCCP sends a scheduling letter to notify a government contractor or subcontractor that a particular establishment has been selected for a compliance evaluation. In response to the scheduling letter, the contractor or subcontractor must submit its written Affirmative Action Program (AAP) along with supporting information, including detailed data on compensation, hiring, promotion, and termination decisions.

Make no mistake, an OFCCP scheduling letter should be treated in the same manner as a class action lawsuit, because that is exactly what it is.
Continue Reading OFCCP Mid-Atlantic Region Issues Scheduling Letters

Earlier this year the Superior Court of Pennsylvania held that a worker who was fired after he informed his employer that he was proceeding with legal action against a co-worker may maintain an action against the employer under Pennsylvania’s Crime Victims’ Employment Protection Act.

This decision may come as a surprise to many Pennsylvania employers who may not have even been aware of the Act. Now, an employer must be careful when an employee informs it that he/she has been the victim of a crime, intends to report the crime to the police, and will attend court to pursue legal action.
Continue Reading Pennsylvania Act Protects Employees Who Report Crimes to Police

In August, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) issued a controversial Final Rule that would require most private-sector employers to notify their employees of their rights under the National Labor Relations Act with a new mandatory workplace poster. The rule’s effective date originally was November 14, 2011.

On October 5, 2011, the NLRB announced that it was delaying the implementation date for the notice-posting rule until January 31, 2012. The NLRB claimed that it postponed the deadline “in the interest of ensuring broad voluntary compliance.” Other reports indicate that the NLRB postponed the implementation date in response to a specific request to do so by the Judge in one of the pending cases challenging the rule.
Continue Reading NLRB Postpones Employee Notification Rule’s Effective Date

So your employee recently posted photos of herself lounging poolside with margarita in hand while out on FMLA leave. Can you do something more than just compliment her nice tan?

Earlier this year, in the case of Pellegrino v. Communications Workers of America, a Pennsylvania federal court answered yes. The court upheld the termination of an employee for violating a work rule that restricted employee travel outside the immediate vicinity while on FMLA leave.
Continue Reading Curbing FMLA Abuse: Policies Restricting an Employee’s Travel While on Paid Sick Leave

On September 6, 2011, the National Labor Relations Board (Board) announced that a Board Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) had issued the first decision involving employee social media use. In the decision, Hispanics United of Buffalo, Inc., the ALJ ruled that the non-profit employer unlawfully discharged five employees after the employees posted comments on Facebook.

The ALJ first found that the small non-profit organization (which after the terminations at issue had only 25 employees) was covered by the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), even though the organization operated only in the Buffalo, New York area. The ALJ went on to hold that the employees’ Facebook comments amounted to concerted protected activity under the NLRA, and as such, their comments were shielded from discipline. The ALJ concluded that the terminations were therefore unlawful, and ordered the employees reinstated with back pay.
Continue Reading First NLRB Administrative Law Judge Opinion On Employee Discipline For Social Media Use

Given the increase in major weather events that have affected Pennsylvania recently, including high winds and substantial flooding, employers should consider the following issues that may arise when closings, delays, and absences are caused by inclement weather.

Must employees be paid when the business is closed because of inclement weather?
Continue Reading What Employers Should Know About Weather Related Absences

Recently, the Acting General Counsel of the National Labor Relations Board (Board) released a report, basically a score card, detailing the Board’s actions on 14 cases involving social media. Employee social media use has been a hot topic for the Board, for both union and non-union employers, and for us. The report is summarized on our blog.
Continue Reading National Labor Relations Board Issues Social Media Report

This post was contributed by James Welch, a Summer Associate with McNees Wallace and Nurick LLC. Mr. Welch will begin his third year of law school at William & Mary School of Law in the fall, and he expects to earn his J.D. in May 2012.

In Borough of Duryea v. Guarnieri, 113 S.Ct. 2488 (2011) (PDF), the United States Supreme Court clarified that, although the Petition Clause of the First Amendment of the United States Constitution provides public employees separate and distinct protections, those protections are essentially the same as those afforded by the Free Speech Clause of the First Amendment.  This is good news for public sector employers, who already face a slew of additional concerns in the area of employee discipline. 

The Petition Clause has been trendy for public employees lately, but its contours have been somewhat unclear.  Generally, the Petition Clause protects the rights of individuals to petition the government to seek redress of grievances.  The courts have held that this provision protects public employees who file grievances against their employers.  In other words, public employers are prohibited from retaliating against an employee who has filed a grievance or other complaint. 

However, like other protections afforded to employees, there are limits to the protections afforded by the Petition Clause.  The issue in Guarnieri was, what types of grievances/complaints are protected? Continue Reading United States Supreme Court Clarifies Public Employee Petition Clause Protections