First, understand that the union’s case is never simple. Many courts view the form of collective bargaining as a voluntary exchange, which means that both parties freely agree to a particular term or condition of employment without force or fraud. This is the gist of labor law. The “notwithstanding” clause of the NLRA, however, allows for specific and definite remedies in certain circumstances.
Under the NLRA, the courts have been known to hold that employees may bring unfair labor practices suits if the terms of employment are “arbitrary”capricious,” if they are not “reasonably necessary,” or if it can be demonstrated that the employer created an “undue hardship” upon the employee. Sometimes, these are all-or-nothing types of situations. Other times, the cases are “reasonableness” ones, which means that the employee must prove that the employer has actually created an undue hardship for them in order to bring a claim. Therefore, it is essential that an employee is familiar with the appropriate form of relief and the amount of relief that he or she will receive.
In order to help students prepare for their university exam, the Department of Labor provides help with wage and hour litigation enforcement. There are many areas in which the law is presented and learned, and there are some things you should keep in mind as you learn these areas. While it is essential that you have legal counsel, it is also important that you make your own research to help prepare for your university exam.
First, you should be familiar with the official policy of the union in question. This includes everything from their definition of what constitutes an unfair labor practice, to how long the union has been active, to what their grievance procedures are, to their grievance procedure forms, to what they do to resolve grievances. Some unions, for example, do not allow negotiation during bargaining; they just accept the first offer that the employee makes.
You should also be aware of the federal minimum wage and overtime laws. Know which union members are exempt and which workers are entitled to overtime. Always read the back of the collective bargaining agreement before signing it and always ask your employer for clarification about a specific provision that you are not clear about.
In addition, you should always be wary of language in the union contract that seems to favor the employer over the employee. For example, it is often a mistake to take a written promise by an employer that the employee can work as many hours as they like, provided they get a certain number of hours off in a week. The employer may be telling the employee to restrict their hours at his or her discretion, but this provision could be interpreted in the opposite way.
Overtime is another area that should be studied closely. Many workers, particularly hourly workers, do not understand their rights under the NLRA and overtime may be the easiest area for an employer to abuse. However, there are specific exceptions to the overtime rule that are frequently misinterpreted by employers.
For example, the time-and-a-half salary rule is commonly misconstrued as an exemption from overtime rules. What is meant by this rule is that if you earn a certain amount of money per hour, then you are allowed to be paid for forty hours at a rate of overtime pay. Most of the time, however, the rule does not apply to most salaried workers, but rather to executives or managers, who earn more than forty hours a week, but who have jobs that need to be done overtime.
The second exception to the overtime rule that you should know about is the fact that the owners of a business may not prevent their employees from receiving tips. . This means that you may not be required to turn down a tip, or get tipped as a direct result of talking with your boss about getting your own. . Also, it is important to remember that union contracts vary from state to state and city to city, so you should always review them before entering into a union contract.
