On Wednesday, the Supreme Court heard oral argument in Unite Here Local 355 v. Mulhall. This case will decide (hopefully) whether labor unions can legally circumnavigate the secret-ballot election procedures of the National Labor Relations Act by reaching agreements with employers to recognize labor unions upon a presentation of recognition cards signed by a majority of employees.
My favorite exchange from the oral argument illustrates my concern over the coercive nature of card-check recognition:
CHIEF JUSTICE ROBERTS: Well, will you … concede that [card check agreements are] more coercive than a secret ballot? … The union organizer comes up to you and says, well, here’s a card. You can check I want to join the union, or two, I don’t want a union. Which will it be? And there’s a bunch of your fellow workers gathered around as you fill out the card.
…
JUSTICE SCALIA: And he’s a big guy.
(Laughter.)
Here’s what some of my fellow bloggers had to say in the wake of the Mulhall oral argument:
- Mulhall Oral Argument — from Workplace Prof Blog
- SCOTUS hears “the most significant labor case in a generation.” — from Phil Miles’ Lawffice Space
- CATO’s Trevor Burrus on the “Niggling Problem” in Mulhall — from On Labor
- Supreme Court Hears Argument on Legality of Neutrality Agreements — from Labor Relations Today
Here’s the rest of what I read this week:
Discrimination
- My favorite legal theory, the “honest belief” rule — from Warren & Associates Blog
- Employment Law Made Unscary: Gina — from Manpower Employment Blawg
- Between two laws: When ADA and FMLA overlap — from HR idiot
- Employment Law Statistics Tell Part of a Story; Still Waiting for CHRO — from Dan Schwartz’s Connecticut Employment Law Blog
- Is it Only a Matter of Time Before LGBT Individuals Have Federal Employment Protection?? — from The Blue Ink
- ENDA (Banning Sexual Orientation Discrimination) Passes In Senate What It Will Mean If It Becomes Law — from Donna Ballman’s Screw You Guys, I’m Going Home
- Employer’s Injured-player Analogy Backfires in ADA Suit — from Smart HR Manager
- What should we do? Employee says he’s allergic to co-worker’s service dog — from Business Management Daily
Social Media & Workplace Technology
- Your Phone Number Is Going To Get A Reputation Score — from The Not-So Private Parts
- Former Employee Defames Employer with Website — from San Antonio Employment Law Blog
- How to Balance Your Personal and Professional Lives on Social Media — from Social Media Strategies Summit Blog
- Seventh Circuit Weighs In on Firing for Facebook Posts — from Corporate Counsel
- Another Facebook Firing Is Upheld — from Molly DiBianca’s Delaware Employment Law Blog
- Social media: Are courts being more understanding? — from HR Morning
HR & Employee Relations
- Four Ways Bosses Cause Stress in the Workplace — from Mike Haberman’s Omega HR Solutions
- Is it a smart move for a company to make work-life balance policies? — from ABA Journal Daily News
- Disney on the Defensive for Background Screening Policies — from employeescreenIQ Blog
- “Drug-Free Workplace Policy Builder” from the Department of Labor — from Eric Meyer’s The Employer Handbook Blog
- Non-Solicitation Means Don’t — from Work Place Coach Blog News
- Microsoft axes its controversial employee-ranking system — from The Verge
- What I Don’t Know About Your Non-Compete Can’t Hurt Me, Right? — from Suits by Suits
- Curse Words & Racial Slurs — from CostofWork
- Nine preliminary lessons from the Miami Dolphins workplace bullying story — from Minding the Workplace