Labor Law
Construction Engineering 221
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RPQ
1. What percentage of employees (by petition) need to
be in favor of representation before an election can
be held to determine the wishes of all the employees?
A. 20% B. 25% C. 30% D. 51%
2. Iowa is a “right-to-work” state.
A. True
B. False
3. Secondary boycotts are legal.
A. True
B. False
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RPQ #1
1.What percentage of employees (by petition)
need to be in favor of representation before an
election can be held to determine the wishes of
all the employees?
Correct answer is C. 30%
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RPQ #2
2.Iowa is a “right-to-work” state.
Correct answer is A. True
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RPQ #3
3.Secondary boycotts are legal.
Correct answer is
B. False
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The Norris-Laguardia Act
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Protects the rights of workers to strike and
picket peacefully
Strictly limits the power of FEDERAL courts to
issue injunctions against union activities in
labor disputes
Allows injunctions to be issued against
 Illegal activities
 Activities that imperil national health or
safety
Prohibits “YELLOW DOG” contracts
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National Labor Relations Board
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Two primary functions
 To establish whether groups of employees
wish to be represented by designated labor
organizations for collective bargaining
purposes
 To prevent and remedy unfair labor practices
NLRB regional offices in major cities
Power over all interstate commerce
Limits involvement to major cases only
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Representation Elections
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National Labor Relations Act requires
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Employer bargain w/ representative elected by a
majority of the employees (50+%)
Representative can be an individual or a labor union
NLRB Regional Office conducts representation elections
(after they receive a petition of at least 30% of the
employees)
In election, employees are given choice of one or more
bargaining representatives or no representative at all
Election is a secret ballot election – certified by NLRB
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Employer Unfair Labor Practices
1. Contractor gives financial aid, such as a loan,
to union that represents their union
carpenters
2. Contractor fires a construction worker because
they helped organize a vote to have a union
represent the employees
3. Contractor refuses to bargain in good faith
with the union representing their workers
about wages, hours and other conditions of
employment
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Union Unfair Labor Practices
1. Union tries to coerce a contractor in its selection of a
representative for collective-bargaining purposes
2. Union causes a contractor to discriminate against an
employee by paying lower wages as an effort to force
employee to join the union
3. Union-security agreement that requires employees to
join union after they are hired is legal
4. Union refuses to bargain in good faith with contractor
regarding wages, hours, job conditions
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Unfair Labor Practices and Remedies
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Charges of Unfair labor practice
 Filed by contractor, union or individual
 Filed with NLRB at regional office
 Within 6 months of alleged unfair activity
Does the NLRB have statutory power to enforce
its judgments?
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NLRB - No Statutory Power
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But can petition U.S. Court of Appeals for a
decree to enforce an order
Failure to comply with court order can result in
fines or imprisonment
Parties involved may seek judicial review
NLRB empowered to issue a “cease-and-desist
order”
Contractor can get a court injunction directing
an illegal activity to stop
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Union-Shop Agreements
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What is the difference between a “closed shop”
and a “union shop”?
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What is meant by “checkoff of union dues”?
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What is meant by the “right-to-work” law
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Closed shop vs. Union shop
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Requires that a worker
be a member of an
appropriate union at the
time they are hired
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New employee need not
be a union member at
the time of employment,
But must join within a
stipulated period to
retain their job -7 days
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Checkoff of Union Dues
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Legal with union-shop agreements
Employers deduct union dues from employee’s
paycheck and pay directly to the union
Employee must voluntarily given written
permission to employer to withhold check off
dues
A mandatory check off is ILLEGAL – considered
an unfair labor practice
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Union Hiring Halls
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All the following are FALSE statements in regards to
union hiring halls except:
A. Agreements with hiring halls can give preferential
treatment to union members
B. The union must be the judge of a worker's
competence
C. Hiring halls are used to provide qualified applicants
to contractors
D. Hiring halls can discriminate against race, sex,
national origin, and union membership
E. A worker's access to a construction job can be
conditioned on his/her ability to pass a union
examination
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Secondary Boycott
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an organized refusal to purchase the products
of, do business with, or perform services for
(such as deliver goods) a company which is
doing business with another company where the
employees are on strike or in a labor dispute
The NLRA forbids secondary boycotts
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Common Situs Picketing
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A common situs is a given location such as an
industrial plant or a construction project at
which several different employees are
simultaneously engaged in their individual
business activities
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What is meant by “separate gate” doctrine?
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When is common situs picketing OK?
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“Separate Gate” doctrine
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On multi-employer construction sites
 One gate is reserved and marked for the
primary contractor involved in the labor
dispute and
 Another gate for the neutral contractors not
involved
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When is common situs picketing legal?
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When the gate provide for the open-shop
employer is so located that the union
picketing cannot communicate its picketing
message to the public
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Subcontractor Agreement Clauses
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Must be in the collective bargaining agreement
Agreement with a union containing restrictions
on subcontracting must pertain only to work on
construction projects
The workers represented by the union that
makes the agreement restricting the
contractor’s right to subcontract must have an
employer-employee relationship with that
contractor
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Jurisdictional Disputes
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Two unions claim that certain work should be
performed by their workers
 Carpenters claim a new ceiling grid system
 Electricians claim that the ceiling grid is
there only to support the light fixtures and
electrical wiring
Unions do not agree
Contractor makes the work assignment to the
carpenters and the electrical union files a
jurisdictional dispute
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Political Contributions
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What is a PAC?
Under federal law PACs are only allowed to
solicit personal contributions from individuals
and disburse them to selected candidates.
A. True
B. False
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The Civil Rights Act of 1964
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Administrated and enforced by the Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission (EEOC)
The act established certain basic individual rights
pertaining to voting; access to public accommodations,
public facilities and public education; participation in
federally assisted programs and opportunities for
employment.
It also makes it unlawful for an employer to refuse to
hire or discharge an employee and/or limit, segregate
or classify employees that would deprive individual of
employment opportunities or status in company due to
race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.
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The Davis-Bacon Act
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The Davis-Bacon Act includes all these items except for
A. The Contractor must pay overtime at a rate of 1 and ½ for
more than 40 hours in a week.
B. The Contractor must pay the workers on the job site at least
once a week
C.
The Contractor must pay at least 2 weeks of vacation per
year to each worker.
D. The Contractor must pay at least the minimum wage required.
E.
The prime contractor is responsible for subcontractors
compliance concerning wage rates
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The Copeland Act
What is it?
And what are “kickbacks”?
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The Copeland Act
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Makes it a punishable offense for an employer
to deprive anyone employed on federal
construction work of any portion of the
compensation to which the employee is entitled
Stipulates that payroll records shall be
maintained and reports submitted by
contractors as the Department of Labor may
require
Covers all construction projects on which the
Davis-Bacon prevailing wages apply
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What are “kickbacks”?
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Employer forces employee to pay back wages to
keep their job
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The Fair Labor Standard Act
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The Fair Labor standards Act of 1939, also
known as the Wage and Hour Law, contains
standards pertaining to minimum wage,
maximum hours, overtime pay, equal pay (sex
discrimination), and child labor
Child labor – minimum age for employment is
16 (except in hazardous occupations – 18 years)
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The Contract Work Hours and
Safety Act
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passed in 1962
applies to federal construction projects
one and one-half times the basic rate of pay for
all hours in excess of 8 hours per day or 40
hours per week
Amended in 1986 - overtime when they work
more than 40 hours per week – allows for 10
hour days
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The Drug-Free Workplace Act
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passed in 1988
requires federal government contractors and
employers that receive federal contracts and
grants to maintain a drug-free workplace
Federal work can be suspended up to five years
if the act is not carried out.
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Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA)
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Legal protections and remedies to persons with
disabilities
The act prohibits discrimination on the basis of
disability by employers, employment agencies, labor
organizations, or joint labor-management committees
with respect to hiring and all terms, conditions, and
privileges of employment
Biggest impact in construction on design of buildings:
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Wheelchair accessibility is one example
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