Penn State College Labor Relations and Worker Unions Discussion

Respond to each of the five Question Sets below in the order in which they appear. Submissions will be evaluated, in large part, on the extent to which they show a mastery of the HRER 811 course material. Course material includes the assigned reading in the Twomey & Greene textbook, additional lesson readings, E-Reserve readings, Canvas lesson commentaries, weekly additional lesson commentaries, and course announcements. Please be mindful of the importance of good, clear writing (including organization, grammar, spelling, syntax, and usage) and the academic integrity rules that apply to work in this class.

Please insert the Question Set number at the beginning of your response to each.

Question Set 1

The Regional Office of the National Labor Relations Board has notified Geeks, Inc., of an unfair labor practice (ULP) charge filed by a former employee. Geeks is a nonunion company that offers on-site and remote computer repair and technology support services. It has 37 employees. The ULP charge complains about a clause in the Geeks employee handbook that cautions employees not to share their salary or benefit information with anyone.

What legal issue(s) does the ULP charge most likely raise?

What laws govern those issues, and what do they provide?

What defenses might Geeks raise in response to the ULP charge?

What might be Geeks’ best practical approach to the charge, and why might that be the best approach?

Provide specific identifying information for the statutes, cases (the name of the case and a citation), and legal principles that you reference.

If additional information would help you assess the issues, please describe the information with specificity and explain how it might impact your analysis.

Question Set 2

Master Plating Inc. (MPI) is nonunion company located in a rural area on the outskirts of Lewistown, Pennsylvania. Notwithstanding its somewhat remote location, it ships products all over the country and does more than a million dollars of business annually. Apparently, some of its employees have invited union organizers to attend an upcoming MPI employee picnic that will be held behind the plant on MPI’s property.

Can MPI bar nonemployee union organizers from attending the picnic? If so, why, or if not, why not? What law governs that issue, and what does it provide?

Can MPI stop its employees from talking about the union, passing out union T-shirts, wearing union caps, or distributing union literature at the picnic? If so, why, or if not, why not? What law governs that issue, and what does it provide?

Provide specific identifying information for the statutes, cases (the name of the case and a citation), and legal principles that you reference.If additional information would help you assess the issues, please describe the information with specificity and explain how it might impact your analysis.

Question Set 3

MPI plans to create an employee–management committee to head off what appears to be growing prounion sentiment. The committee will consist of the plant manager, the plating department supervisor, and three hourly employees, the latter to be selected in an in-house election that MPI will conduct. The committee’s first topic is to be tuition reimbursement. Thereafter, it can address any topic proposed by the hourly employee representatives. After committee discussion, all final decisions will be made by the plant manager in consultation with MPI’s CEO. The committee will meet on paid time on the second Friday of each month, with snacks and beverages provided by MPI. To encourage employee participation, each hourly employee committee member will receive a $100 bonus for perfect meeting attendance.

Do any aspects of this plan raise any legal issues?

What law governs those issues, and what does it provide?

In light of that law, describe in detail why and how the plan should be modified.

Provide specific identifying information for the statutes, cases (the name of the case and a citation), and legal principles that you reference.If additional information would help you assess the issues, please describe the information with specificity and explain how it might impact your analysis.

Question Set 4

The Township of Clary has reason to suspect that Gretchen, who works in the Building and Planning Department, has been embezzling township funds. Gretchen is a member of the United Clericals Union (UCU), the union that represents a bargaining unit of township administrative and clerical employees pursuant to state law. You’ve been asked to interview Gretchen to get her side of the story.

What legal issues do you need to consider as you plan for the interview?

What laws govern those issues, and what do they provide?

In light of those laws, describe in detail what you would do and say before, at the commencement of, and during the interview.

If, as a result of your investigation, you conclude that Gretchen should be terminated, what laws govern how you should proceed, and what do they require?

Provide specific identifying information for the statutes, cases (the name of the case and a citation), and legal principles that you reference.If additional information would help you assess the issues, please describe the information with specificity and explain how it might impact your analysis.

Question Set 5

Boom, Inc. provides cloud collaboration products and services. Headquartered in Arizona, Boom is a state and federal contractor, does business in all fifty states, and has offices in Mexico, France, and Canada, where it employs both U.S. citizens and local residents.

Identify and discuss in detail the labor and employment–related legal issues raised in Scenarios (a)–(h) below, describing the applicable laws and the feedback that you would give to Boom based on the course material.

Please address each scenario separately in the order in which it appears, and insert the letter of the scenario at the beginning of each discussion.

Scenarios A-H

Boom has never used E-Verify.

With respect to its domestic operations, Boom requires all job applicants to bring a U.S. passport, valid state driver’s license, and a social security card to their initial interview.

All job applicants must provide Boom with the passwords to their social media sites as part of the screening process. Current employees must keep Boom apprised of any changes to their social media passwords so that Boom can track employer-related posts.

Boom’s employee handbook prohibits employees from revealing its trade secrets and making any negative comments about the company or its employment policies, internal operations, supervisors, managers, customers, or products. The prohibition covers all communications, including those made via social media, Boom email, personal email, and text messages on personal and Boom devices and equipment.

Boom has directed its IT department to search company-owned computers and devices used by former employees for passwords to personal email accounts and social media sites and, if any passwords are located, to review email sent and received by those accounts and all social media posts. The primary goal is to determine whether former employees were or are soliciting Boom customers.

A former employee has filed a lawsuit asserting that the “search and review” policy described in (e) above violated her rights under state and federal law. The same former employee has also filed an EEOC charge claiming that her discharge last month was based on her sexual orientation. Boom wants both the lawsuit and the EEOC charge to be dismissed based on the company’s brand new grievance and arbitration policy. The policy terms include the following:

All employment-related claims are solely subject to the Boom grievance and arbitration procedure, which culminates in a final and binding decision by an arbitrator selected by Boom.

Relief is limited to back pay.

All claims must be pursued individually, and none may be joined or combined with another person’s claim.

No employment-related claims may be filed with any other entity, including courts and administrative agencies.

Boom pays bonuses to employees who laud its products and services on social media without revealing the fact of their Boom employment.

Inspired by the current administration’s America First stance and interested in cutting costs, Boom plans to issue termination notices to half of the local employees in its Mexican, French, and Canadian offices, with the terminations to be effective next week.

If additional information would help you assess the issues, please describe the information with specificity and explain how it might impact your analysis.