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Steptoe & Johnson Recent News- Gene Jazwinski Joins Steptoe & Johnson May 16, 2012
- PA PUC Issues Order for Unconventional Well Impact Fees May 15, 2012
- WV Legislative Update - 5/11/12 May 11, 2012
- Land Management Bureau Issues Fracing Regs for Public Lands May 9, 2012
- Jim Wright Sworn in as WV State Bar President May 9, 2012
Author Archives: John R. Merinar, Jr.
THE NLRB GIVES UNIONS A BOOST…AGAIN
As readers of this blog know well, union organizers all over the country have had the chance to act like children on Christmas morning an awful lot lately thanks to the National Labor Relations Board. Putting aside for a minute the fact that things have gotten so bad a member of the House just proposed [...]
THE END OF AN ERA? THE NLRB’S ASSAULT ON FREE SPEECH
There is an alarming connection between the National Labor Relations Board’s much-publicized decision to file a complaint against Boeing, covered previously on this blog HERE and HERE, and the new proposed election rules which the NLRB announced a few weeks ago. Put simply, both actions are part of the Board’s recent effort to severely curtail [...]
ALARMING ASPECTS OF THE NLRB’S CASE AGAINST BOEING: PART 1
Though many employers find the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) to be overly protective of employees, to its credit, the NLRB has fulfilled its mission of enforcing the National Labor Relations Act in such a way as to maintain a reasonable balance over the past several decades. A cornerstone concept which made that balance possible [...]
MAKING A UNION ORGANIZER’S JOB TOUGHER
While we have written in this space before about efforts in legislatures all over the country to stem or limit collective bargaining (particularly in the public sector), union organizers persist for the time being, looking to mobilize your workforce into what would surely be a daily headache you don’t need. The good news, however, is [...]
FOURTH CIRCUIT CLARIFIES CALCULATION OF FLSA DAMAGES
Over the last several years, wage and hour claims have been among the most popular for labor and employment lawyers all over the nation. Recently, West Virginia took center stage in one of those disputes.
WHAT IS A ‘QUALIFIED’ CONTRACTOR?
Recently, the West Virginia School Building Authority disseminated a list of 18 criteria which county school boards are supposed to use in order to determine whether a contractor bidding on a project is qualified to perform the work. The list of 18 criteria is accompanied by a short paragraph explaining that no single criterion is [...]
Posted in General Employer Interest Leave a comment
PENNSYLVANIA PASSES THE “CONSTRUCTION WORKPLACE MISCLASSIFICATION ACT”
On October 13, 2010, Pennsylvania Governor Edward Rendell signed HB 400, known as the “Construction Workplace Misclassification Act.” The purpose of the Act is to clarify when a construction worker can be classified as an independent contractor, rather than an employee.
THE DANGER OF NLRB CHANGES TO THE UNION ELECTION PROCESS
Conventional wisdom is that the “card check” bill – also known as The Employee Free Choice Act – is not going anywhere in Congress (though there is some threat that a lame-duck Congress might pass EFCA ). Employers are right to celebrate this news, and to feel a sense of relief that such a disastrous [...]
Posted in Labor Relations Leave a comment
WHEN IS A CONTRACTOR NOT A CONTRACTOR?
Recently, many companies have started to contract out certain work, rather than hiring new employees to do it. There are many reasons for this, most of which relate in one way or another to reducing costs and/or perceived liability. As this trend has gained momentum, some employers have moved significant work from employees to contractors, [...]
NLRB CONTINUES HARD PUSH TO EXPAND UNIONIZATION