PowerPoint Slides to Accompany
CONTEMPORARY BUSINESS AND
ONLINE COMMERCE LAW
6th Edition
by Henry R. Cheeseman
Chapter 35
Employment, Worker
Protection, and Labor Law
Copyright © 2009 by Pearson Prentice Hall. All rights reserved.
The right of workers to form,
join, and assist labor unions is
a statutorily protected right in
the United States.
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35 - 2
Federal Labor Union Statutes: Norris-
LaGuardia Act of 1932
 Stipulates that it is legal for employees to
organize
 Removes the federal courts’ power to
enjoin peaceful union activity
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Federal Labor Union Statutes:
National Labor Relations Act of 1935
 Also known as the Wagner Act or NLRA
 Establishes the right of employees to:
 form, join, and assist labor organizations
 bargain collectively with employers
 engage in concerted activity to promote these
rights
 Places an affirmative duty on employers
to bargain and deal in good faith with
unions
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Federal Labor Union Statutes: Labor-
Management Relations Act of 1947
 Amended the Wagner Act
 Also known as the Taft-Hartley Act
 Expands the activities that labor unions can
engage in
 Gives employers the right to engage in freespeech efforts against unions prior to a union
election
 Gives the President the right to seek an
injunction against a strike that would create a
national emergency
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Federal Labor Union Statutes: Labor-
Management Reporting and Disclosure Act
 Also known as the Landrum-Griffin Act
 Regulates internal union affairs and
establishes the rights of union members:
Requires regularly scheduled elections for
union officials by secret ballot
 Prohibits ex-convicts and communists from
holding union office
 Makes union officials accountable for union
funds and property

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Federal Labor Union Statutes: Railway
Labor Act of 1926 (amended in 1934)
 Covers employees of railroad and airline
carriers
 This act permits:
 self-organization of employees
 prohibits interference with this right
 provides for the adjustment of grievances
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National Labor Relations Board
(NLRB)
 Administrative agency created by the
National Labor Relations (Wagner) Act:
Oversees union elections
 Prevents employers and unions from
engaging in illegal and unfair labor practices
 Enforces and interprets certain federal labor
laws

 NLRB decisions are enforceable in court
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Organizing a Union
 Section 7 of the NLRA – gives employees
the right to join together to form a union.
 Appropriate Bargaining Unit – the group
that the union is seeking to represent:
Must be defined before the union can petition
for an election
 Managers and professional employees may
not belong to unions formed by employees
whom they manage

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Union Elections (1 of 2)
 30% of the employees in the bargaining
unit must indicate interest in joining or
forming a union.
 NLRB is petitioned, investigates and sets
election date:
Contested election
 Consent election
 Decertification election

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Union Elections (2 of 2)
 If a simple majority of the employees of
the appropriate bargaining unit vote to join
a union,
the union is certified as the bargaining agent
of all the employees,
 even those who did not vote for the union

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Union Solicitation on Company
Property (1 of 2)
 An employer may restrict union solicitation
activities by employees to nonworking
areas during employees’ free time.
 Off-duty employees may be barred from
union solicitation on company premises.
 Non-employee union organizers or
officers may be prohibited from soliciting
on behalf of the union anywhere on
company property.
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35 - 12
Union Solicitation on Company
Property (2 of 2)
Inaccessibility Exception
 A rule that permits employees and union
officials to engage in union solicitation on
company property if the employees are
beyond reach of reasonable union efforts
to communicate with them
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Illegal Interference with an Election
 Section 8(a) of the NLRA – makes it an
unfair labor practice for an employer to
interfere with, coerce, or restrain
employees from exercising their statutory
right to form and join a union
 Section 8(b) of the NLRA – prohibits
unions from engaging in unfair labor
practices that interfere with a union
election
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Collective Bargaining
 The act of negotiating contract terms
between an employer and the members of
a union
 Collective Bargaining Agreement – the
resulting contract from a collective
bargaining procedure.
 The employer and the union must bargain
with each other in good faith.
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Subjects of Collective Bargaining
(1 of 2)
 Compulsory Subjects
 Wages
 Hours
 Other terms and conditions of employment
 Illegal Subjects
 Closed shops
 Discrimination
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Subjects of Collective Bargaining
(2 of 2)
 Permissive Subjects
 Size and composition of the supervisory force
 Location of plants
 Corporate reorganizations
 Any other subjects that are not compulsory or
illegal
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Union Security Agreements (1 of 2)
 Union Shop
 Employee must join the union within a certain
number of days after being hired
 Employees who do not join must be
discharged by the employer upon notice from
the union
 Union members pay union dues to the union
 Union shops are lawful
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35 - 18
Union Security Agreements (2 of 2)
 Agency Shop
 Employees do not have to become union
members
 They do have to pay an agency fee (an
amount equal to union dues) to the union
 Agency shops are lawful
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35 - 19
Check-Off Provision
 Upon proper notification by the union,
union shop and agency shop employers
are required to:
1. Deduct union dues and agency fees from
employees’ wages, and
2. Forward these dues to the union
 This is called a check-off provision.
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State Right-to-Work Laws
 Section 14(b) of the Taft Hartley Act –
allows states to enact right-to-work laws
that outlaw union or agency shops:
Individual employees cannot be forced to join
a union or pay union dues and fees even
though a union has been elected by other
employees.
 21 states have enacted right-to-work laws.

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Strikes
 The NLRA gives union management the
right to recommend that the union call a
strike if a collective bargaining agreement
cannot be reached.
 A majority vote of the union’s members
must agree to the action before there can
be a strike.
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Picketing (1 of 2)
 The actions of strikers walking in front of
the employer’s premises carrying signs
announcing their strike
 The right to picket is implied from the
NLRA.
 An employer may seek an injunction
against unlawful picketing.
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Picketing (2 of 2)
Picketing is lawful unless it:
1. It is accompanied by violence
2. Obstructs customers from entering the
employer’s place of business
3. Prevents non-striking employees from entering
the employer’s premises
4. Prevents pickups and deliveries at the
employer’s place of business
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Secondary Boycott Picketing
 A type of picketing where unions try to
bring pressure against an employer by
picketing his or her suppliers or customers
 Such picketing is lawful only if it is product
picketing.
 It is illegal if it is directed against the
neutral employer instead of the struck
employer’s product.
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Illegal Strikes
 Several types of strikes have been held to
be illegal.
 They are not protected by federal labor
law.
 Illegal strikers may be discharged by the
employer with no rights to reinstatement.
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Illegal strikes are:
 Violent Strikes
 Wildcat Strikes
 Sit-Down Strikes
 Strikes during the 60-
day Cooling-Off
Period
 Partial or Intermittent
Strikes
 Strikes in Violation of
a No-Strike Clause
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35 - 27
Crossover Worker
 Individual members of a union do not
have to honor the strike
 They may:
1. Choose not to strike, or
2. Return to work after joining the strikers for a
time
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35 - 28
Replacement Workers
 Workers who are hired to take the place of
striking workers
 They can be hired on either a temporary
or permanent basis.
 If replacement workers are given
permanent status, they do not have to be
dismissed when the strike is over.
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35 - 29
Employer Lockout
 An act of an employer to prevent
employees from entering the work
premises when the employer reasonably
anticipates a strike
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35 - 30
Internal Union Affairs (1 of 2)
 Unions may adopt internal union rules to regulate
the operation of the union, acquire and maintain
union membership, etc.
 Title I of the Landrum-Griffin Act – referred to as
labor’s bill of rights. Gives each union member
equal rights and privileges to:
Nominate candidates for union office
 Vote in elections
 Participate in membership meetings

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35 - 31
Internal Union Affairs (2 of 2)
 A union may discipline members for:
 Walking off the job in a non-sanctioned strike
 Working for wages below union scale
 Spying for an employer
 Any other unauthorized activity that has an
adverse economic impact on the union
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35 - 32
Worker Adjustment and Retraining
Notification (WARN) Act of 1988
 Covers employers with 100 or more employees
 Requires employers to give their employees 60
days’ notice before engaging in certain plant
closings or layoffs
 If the employees are represented by a union, the
notice must be given to the union

If they are not, the notice must be given to the
employees individually
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Workers’ Compensation Acts (1 of 4)
Acts that compensate workers and
their families if workers are injured
in connection with their jobs.
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Workers’ Compensation Acts (2 of 4)
 Depending on the state, employers are
required either:
To pay for workers’ compensation insurance,
or
 To self-insure by making payments into a
contingency fund

 Workers’ compensation benefits vary by
state and are paid according to preset
limits established by statute or regulation
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35 - 35
Workers’ Compensation Acts (3 of 4)
 Employment-Related Injury
 To recover under workers’ compensation, the
worker’s injuries must have been
employment-related
 Many workers’ compensation acts include
stress as a compensable work-related injury
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Workers’ Compensation Acts (4 of 4)
 Exclusive Remedy
 Workers’ compensation is an exclusive
remedy
 Workers cannot sue their employers in court
for damages
 An exception occurs when an employer
intentionally injures an employee
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35 - 37
Occupational Safety and Health Act
(1 of 3)
 Enacted in 1970 to promote safety in the
workplace
 Established the Occupational Safety and
Health Administration (OSHA)
 Generally, all private employers are within
the scope of the act
 Federal, state, and local governments are
exempt
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35 - 38
Occupational Safety and Health Act
(2 of 3)
 The act imposes record keeping and
reporting requirements on employers
 Employers are required to post notices in
the workplace informing employees of
their rights under this act.
 OSHA is empowered to administer the act
and adopt rules and regulations to
interpret and enforce it.
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35 - 39
Occupational Safety and Health Act
(3 of 3)
 OSHA is empowered to inspect places of
employment for health hazards and safety
violations.
 If a violation is found, OSHA can issue a
written citation.

Requires the employer to abate or correct the
situation
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35 - 40
Types of OSHA Standards
Specific Duty Standard
 Addresses a safety
problem of a specific duty
nature

i.e., requirement for a
safety guard on a particular
type of equipment
General Duty Standard
 A duty that an employer
has to provide a work
environment “free from
recognized hazards that
are causing or are likely to
cause death or serious
physical harm to his
employees.”
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35 - 41
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) of
1938 (and subsequent amendments)
 Federal act enacted to protect workers
 Prohibits child labor
 Establishes minimum wage requirements
 Establishes overtime pay requirements
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35 - 42
FLSA: Child Labor
 The FLSA forbids the use of oppressive
child labor.
 It is unlawful to ship goods produced by
businesses that use oppressive child
labor.
 The Department of Labor defines the
standards for lawful child labor.
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35 - 43
FLSA: Minimum Wage and
Overtime Pay
 Managerial, administrative, and
professional employees are exempt from
the FLSA’s wage and hour provisions.
 Employers are required to pay covered
(non-exempt) workers at least the
minimum wage for their regular work
hours.
 Overtime pay is also mandated.
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35 - 44
Minimum Wage
 Set by Congress and can be changed
 Employers are permitted to pay less than
minimum wage to students and
apprentices.
 An employer may reduce minimum wages
by an amount equal to the reasonable
cost of food and lodging provided to
employees.
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35 - 45
Overtime Pay
 An employer cannot require nonexempt
employees to work more than 40 hours
per week unless they are paid one-and-a
half times their regular pay for each hour
worked in excess of 40 hours.
 Each week is treated separately.
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35 - 46
Other Worker Protection Laws (1 of 2)
Law
Description
Employee Retirement Prevents fraud and other abuses
Income Security Act associated with private pension plans.
(ERISA)
Consolidated
Omnibus Budget
Reconciliation Act
(COBRA)
Permits employees and their
beneficiaries to continue their group
health insurance after an employee’s
employment has ended.
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35 - 47
Other Worker Protection Laws (2 of 2)
Law
Description
Family and Medical
Leave Act (FMLA)
Guarantees workers unpaid time off
from work for medical emergencies,
birth or adoption of a child. No loss in
pay, benefits, and status up returning to
work.
Makes it unlawful for employers to hire
illegal immigrants. Employers are
required to complete INS Form I-9
attesting legal U.S. citizenship or legal
alien status of each employee.
Immigration Reform
and Control Act
(IRCA)
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35 - 48
Government Programs:
Unemployment Compensation
 Federal Unemployment Tax Act (FUTA) –
a federal act that requires employers to
pay unemployment taxes:

Unemployment compensation is paid to
workers who are temporarily unemployed
 State governments administer
unemployment compensation programs
under general guidelines set by the
federal government.
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35 - 49
Government Programs: Social Security
 A Federal system that provides limited retirement
and death benefits to covered employees and their
dependents
 Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA) – a
federal act that says employees and employers must
make contributions into social security.
 Self-Employment Contributions Act – a federal act
that says self-employed persons must pay Social
Security taxes equal to the combined employeremployee amount.
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