The relationship between an Employer and Employee is governed by The National Labor Relations Act. This act prohibits companies from prying with, preventing, or pressuring workers in the implementation of rights relating to forming, creating, assembly, or supporting a labor organization for collective bargaining drives, or from working collectively to progress standings and situations of employment, or abstaining from any such movement. Similarly, labor organizations may not inhibit or prevent employees from exercising these rights
There are many ways that an employer can get into trouble with National Labor Relations Board. Below are a number of examples of what not to do:
- Warning employees of loss of jobs if they join or vote for a union
- Threaten employees with the loss of a benefit or benefits if they join or vote for a union.
- Prevent an employee from any protected concerted activity.
- Simply warning that they will close a plant if the employee opts for unionization.
- During an interview, ask questions about their union sympathies or if they support the activities of a Union. Or try to prevent them from gathering to exercise their rights.
- Pledge funding or benefits to staff to discourage their Union efforts.
- Penalize an employee with a layoff, assigning more difficult work to see them fail to ensure progressive discipline and ultimate termination.
The same is true for the Labor Union, they too are prohibited from several activities.
- During a Unionization effort, threaten employees that they will lose their jobs unless they support the union.
- Attempt to have a member be suspended, terminated, or another penalty of an employee for not being an active member. Depending on your State of Employment, an employee may be able to pay a lawful initiation fee and periodic fees instead of a full membership fee.
- Rejecting to deal with an objection because an employee has complained about union officers or because an employee is not a part of the union in states where there is a right-to-work law.
- Penalizing employees who have reasonably left the union for participating in protected concerted activities following their resignation.
- Participating in picket line misbehavior, such as intimidating, attacking, or prohibiting non-strikers from the employer’s grounds.
If the Employer or Union willfully violates these what not to do examples may lead to serious penalties under the law. “Willful violations may be prosecuted criminally, and the violator fined up to $10,000. A second conviction may result in imprisonment. Violators of the child labor provisions are subject to a civil money penalty of up to $10,000 for each employee who was the subject of a violation. Employers who willfully or repeatedly violate the minimum wage or overtime pay requirements are subject to a civil money penalty of up to $1,000 for each violation.” FLSA
