Indiana Enacts Right-To-Work Legislation: Will The Rest Of The Rust Belt Follow?
On February 1, 2012, Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels signed right-to-work legislation into law. Right-to-work laws prohibit anyone from forcing a person to join or support a union as a condition of employment. That is to say, they protect an individual's fundamentally American "right to work" without being forced to join, or pay any of their earnings, to any group. Right-to-work laws do not in any way prevent people from joining or paying dues to a union if they freely choose to do so.
Indiana Enacts Right-to-Work Law
Indiana has become the 23rd state to enact what is commonly known as a right-to-work statute. The National Labor Relations Act permits employers and unions to enter into "union security" clauses that require, as a condition of employment, employees to become members in good standing of the union. Much to the dismay of unions, however, Section 14(b) of the Act permits individual states to override this one aspect of federal law if that state has enacted a statute that prohibits "the execution or application of agreements requiring membership in a labor organization as a condition of employment." With the enactment of its statute, Indiana joins Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Tennessee, Arkansas, Mississippi, Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Iowa, South Dakota, North Dakota, Wyoming, Nebraska, Arizona, Utah, Nevada, and Idaho as "right-to-work" states.
Indiana Adopts Right-to-Work Law
Indiana’s new right-to-work law amends the Indiana Code to prohibit collective bargaining agreements that would require workers to pay union dues or fees. The new law, signed by Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels on February 1, 2012, applies to any written or oral contract or agreement entered into, modified, renewed, or extended after March 14, 2012. It does not apply to or abrogate a written or oral contract or agreement in effect on March 14, 2012.
Indiana Enacts Right-to-Work Law: Becomes the Only Right-to-Work State in the Central Midwest
On February 1, 2012, Governor Mitch Daniels signed into law a bill that makes Indiana the nation’s 23rd right-to-work state. The bill’s legislative supporters describe the law as “a victory for job creation and individual freedom for workers to decide for themselves if they want to financially back a union.” The bill’s supporters envision “a surge in economic development interest” in Indiana because Indiana is now the only right-to-work state in the central Midwest.
First-ever Prosecution under Indiana Prevailing Wage Law
A subcontractor on Marion County, Indiana, public school projects has agreed to pay a fine of $1,000 and submit to a wage audit by the Indiana Department of Labor. The agreement resulted from the first-ever prosecution of a contractor under the Common Construction Wage Act (Indiana Code 5-16-7), Indiana’s prevailing wage law.
New Indiana Law Restricts Employers from Requiring Employees and Applicants to Disclose Gun Possession and Use
Can an Indiana employer with reasonable suspicion ask an employee if he has a gun in his briefcase? Not without opening itself up for liability under Indiana's new Disclosure of Firearm or Ammunition Information as a Condition of Employment Law.
New Law Guarantees Right to Employee Representation Elections
Effective July 1, 2011, a new Indiana statute guarantees employees the right to vote by secret ballot in any election that is required or permitted by Indiana or federal law for the designation, authorization or retention of employee representation. This same statute (codified at I.C. 22-6-5-1 et seq.) guarantees the right of any employer to engage in a campaign in connection with such an election.
New Indiana “Non-Disclosure” Gun Law Takes Effect July 1
Last year, the Indiana General Assembly passed a law that prohibits most employers from adopting a rule or policy prohibiting employees from possessing firearms or ammunition in an employer’s parking lot, so long as they are kept in a locked vehicle and out of sight. This year, the Indiana legislature passed, and the Governor signed into law, another bill further restricting employers from regulating the possession of firearms by their employees.
Indiana Legislature Makes Changes to Unemployment Compensation Statute
In addition to changes in tax rates and benefit amounts, two bills passed by the Indiana legislature this year impact employee eligibility for unemployment compensation. House Enrolled Act No. 1450 provides that effective July 1, 2011, an individual is not unemployed for any week in which the individual is regularly and customarily employed on an on-call or as needed basis and has remuneration for personal services payable to the individual or work available from the individual’s on-call or as needed employer.
Preliminary Injunction Granted for Parts of New Indiana Immigration Law
As predicted in our prior Legal Alert on this topic on May 13, 2011, Indiana's recently enacted immigration law has been challenged in court. On June 24, 2011, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana granted a preliminary injunction, preventing certain provisions of the new law from going into effect as planned on July 1, 2011.
