Total Articles: 2
Worker May Challenge Employer’s Neutrality Agreement with Union, Appeals Court Rules
An employee may bring suit under the federal Labor Management Relations Act to enjoin enforcement of a neutrality agreement between his employer and a labor union, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit has ruled. Mulhall v. UNITE HERE Local 355, 2012 U.S. App. LEXIS 944 (11th Cir. Jan. 18, 2012). The Court explained that labor organizing assistance can be a thing of value that, if demanded or given in payment in certain circumstances, could be a violation of the LMRA. Accordingly, the Court reversed the district court’s dismissal of the suit and remanded the case. In so deciding, the Eleventh Circuit broke ranks with several other federal courts that have ruled neutrality agreements are not “things of value.” See, e.g., Adcock v. Freightliner, LLC, 550 F.3d 369 (4th Cir. 2008); Hotel Eps. & Restaurant Eps. Union, Local 57 v. Sage Hospitality, 390 F.3d 206, 218-19 (3d Cir. 2004); Patterson v. Heartland Industries Partners, 428 F. Supp. 2d 714 (D.C.N.D. Ohio 2006). The Eleventh Circuit has jurisdiction over Alabama, Florida, and Georgia.
Employment Law Legislative Update.
Are you ready for new legislation prohibiting sexual orientation discrimination and harassment? If not, you should be because it is getting closer to becoming a reality.
In a late-night vote on November 7, 2007, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Employment Non-Discrimination Act of 2007 (ENDA) by a vote of 235-184. The bill now heads to the Senate where pundits forecast that it will be approved in some form. While a veto is expected from President Bush, the support in the legislature, and a potential change in the White House, suggest that it is just a matter of time before the ENDA is law.
