Employers FMLA notice procedures not required

The Fifth Circuit has reversed a grant of summary judgment to a FMLA employer which terminated a covered employee for not following the employer's own internal notification process. The employee, who suffered from a serious mental incapacitation, and whose mother, as court appointed guardian, communicated with the employer, according to the  Court, provided sufficient notice to meet FMLA's minimum notification procedures. Of interest is the Court's footnote which suggests the result might have been different under the  revisions to 29 C.F.R. § 825.303—which arguably increase the duties imposed upon employees seeking FMLA leave.

Say it ain't so, Mr. King

Pity poor Bob King, president of the United Auto Workers (UAW). He recently spoke in favor of the Korean Free Trade Agreement claiming it was good for domestic automakers and their workers. The Economic Policy Institute estimates it will cost 159,000 domestic jobs over the next five years. King must be feeling a bit like another president whose taking a lot of flack from his leftist supporters. Jane Hamsher at Firedoglake and Huffington Post says its a bad trade - 800 jobs secured for the UAW, thousands lost for everyone else.

Cost of NFL lockout potentially large

What would an NFL lockout cost each city with a team? A lot, says a new study discussed here.

Players' union head denied Hall of Fame

Marvin Miller, long time head of the Major League Baseball Players Association (1966-1981) failed to get enough votes for Hall of Fame membership. This article suggests a few voters hate them some unions.

Walmart class action to SCOTUS

The Supreme Court will review the Walmart class action case.

Rising unemployment

Despite a gain of 39000 jobs, the unemployment rate in November rose to 9.8% (up from October's 9.6%).

Revitalization roadmap

A former union organizer (20 years) has penned a piece on revitalizing unions for The Nation. Key point, unions need to organize people, not necessarily in unions, but around ideas and causes that really matter to, well, people.

Processed out with a PIP

Performance Improvement Plans (PIP's) are viewed as an employment death sentence by most employees put on one, and for the most part the assessment is correct. But the absurdity that is a PIP is not without very logical benefits for the employer. Here is an excellent post about the actual benefits of PIPs to employers.

Lockout ticket refunds

It appears the NFL owners are prepared to refund ticket purchasers if a lockout cancels games in 2011. Smart move by the owners to avoid ill will in the public relations battle for the hearts and minds of the fans.

Whut?

Is the federal worker pay freeze political theater or deficit reduction reality? Mike Elk's post at labor-friendly In these Times think its Obama's PATCO moment.

Back to basics - organize!

Thats what Randy Shaw says at BeyondChron. The solution to stopping labors decline in membership is not political, it is based on investment in organizing. Randy's right, hard work and organizing are required. Quick political fixes are not happening.

Foul play

Two ivy league economists claim in a new study the outcome of NBA games may be affected by the race of the referee. Their conclusion:

We find that players have up to 4% fewer fouls called against them and score up to 21⁄2% more points on nights in which their race matches that of the refereeing crew. Player statistics that one might think are unaffected by referee behavior are uncorrelated with referee race. The bias in foul- calling is large enough that the probability of a team winning is noticeably affected by the racial composition of the refereeing crew assigned to the game.

NFL owners 2011 lockout a certainty?

DeMaurice Smith, Executive Director of the National Football League Players Association (NFLPA) says a lockout is a near certainty. Far less clear is who wins if there is one. One interesting follow is the extent to which the professional union haters will go to trash the players, the other is what will be the public reaction to any shutdown of the secular religion that is professional football.

PSB revotes authorization for unionization of support workers

The lame duck Jefferson Parish School Board, in an attempt to side step a court challenge to its decision to allow support workers to decide on unionization, voted to schedule a vote on December 8 on the issue of whether the Board itself would designate the Jefferson Federation of Teachers as collective bargaining representative for clerical workers, paraeducators and crossing guards, and the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) as the collective bargaining representative for cafeteria workers, custodians and transportation employees.

Secondary pressure and the decline of labor

Joe Burns' post at Labor Notes does a good job of explaining secondary pressure as a union solidarity issue. He attributes labor's decline, in part, as a result of the banning of secondary pressure.

NFL and NBA?

Could the NBA and the NFL both have 2011 lockouts?

Big access: It begins small

In class I spend a considerable amount of time on the importance of employers' restricting accessibility to their premises during union organization attempts. In that regard we discuss Lechmere's importance in establishing outside organizers have no Section 7 right to access an employers premises, Republic Aviation, which prohibits employers from prohibiting employees from discussing and soliciting for unionization during non-working time, and Register Guard's denial of employees access to company e-mail for union purposes. It now appears the Obama Board is willing to revisit this issue, big time. More after the jump

Yikes! bedbugs and giant rats

Tied to a giant blow-up rat is a flyer urging hotel guests at a New York hotel to beware of bedbugs. Seems the hotel may have had a problem in the past, but the union's real problem is with the "blood-sucking parasite" of a contractor that the hotel engaged to remove asbestos from another hotel property they owned.

Union vote Blocked in Jefferson

A group of business organizations, including the Jefferson Chamber of Commerce have sued to block Jefferson Parish School Board support workers from voting today on union representation. A hearing is set November 29th in 24th JDC before Judge Petrie.

Paycheck Fairness Act fails cloture vote

Senate Republicans vote unanimously (58-41) against an up or down vote on the Paycheck Fairness Act.

Who's minding the store?

The lame duck Jefferson Parish School Board has voted 6-3 to let 3,000 school support workers opt for union representation. Wow! This is a real gift to local unions. The approval vote happened last week, and the employees will vote tomorrow. This is an example of what labor wants to achieve in the private sector -  fast elections. Essentially there is no time to inform employees of the down side of unionization, or to mobilize any worker or community opposition. The fact that the issue would be decided by a lame duck Board, a majority of whose members will be replaced in January, only underscores the problem with politicians addressing labor/management issues. Whose representing the taxpayer at that bargaining table?

Unemployment boosts economy says DoL

The Department of Labor (DoL) has released its report on multi-year study on the positive effects of unemployment insurance on the economy. Important findings:

• For every dollar spent on UI, economic activity increases by two dollars.
• During each quarter of the recent recession, UI benefits kept an average of 1.6 million Americans on the job.
• At the height of the recession, UI benefits averted 1.8 million job losses and kept the unemployment rate approximately 1.2 percentage points lower.
• UI benefits reduced the fall in GDP by 18 percent. Nominal GDP was $175 billion higher in 2009 than it would have been without UI benefits. In total, unemployment insurance kept GDP $315 billion higher from the start of the recession through the second quarter of 2010.

Full report is here.

Lame Duck vote on Paycheck Fairness Act

A cloture vote on the Paycheck Fairness Act, S. 3772 is scheduled for tomorrow. The Paycheck Fairness Act would amend the Equal Pay Act. The EPA was designed to require equal pay for equal work, but has been judicially interpreted to permit employers to defend pay disparities provided the differential in pay is based on a factor other than sex. The PFA requires any differential to be based on “bona fide factors” such as education, training or experience. Such bona fide factors must also be consistent with “business necessity.” SInce the bill has already passed the house, Senate passage would send the bill to President Obama who favors the legislation and is expected to sign it.

Preparation, preparation

The National Football League Players Association (NFLPA) has taken another step in preparation for a 2011 lock out. It has announced full affiliation with the AFL-CIO state labor organizations in states where teams are located.

You couldn't be more wrong

Sometimes you have to laugh at the stretch used to make political hay. This piece from the Cato Institute makes the argument that Samuel Gompers, the iconic labor leader, who opposed government intervention on behalf of workers in the early years, would today also oppose government intervention. This often used tactic effectively persuades some readers because the source of the alleged assertions is not challengeable by the target audience. The problem is Gompers lived in a different time. He died in 1924, prior to the Great Depression and prior to the passage of the National Labor Relations Act. He lived in an era where many actions of state and federal police powers actively discouraged labor's economic self help agenda. More after the jump