Resident Officer Nicholas M. Ohanesian of the Jacksonville Office of the National Labor Relations Board will lead a discussion and CLE on “An Introduction to the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) for Employment Lawyers” May 13.
Nick Ohanesian serves as the head of the Jacksonville Resident Office of the National Labor Relations Board. Together with his staff, Ohanesian is responsible for the enforcement of the National Labor Relations Act in Northern Florida and Southern Georgia.
The NLRB is an independent federal agency created by Congress in 1935 to administer the NLRA. The NLRA “defines the rights of employees to organize and bargain collectively with employers through representatives of their own choosing.” The NLRA defines procedures for conducting secret-ballot elections, and, practices by unions and employers that are inconsistent with the NLRA and “unfair.”
Ohanesian has identified Northern Florida as “an area of low union density, so the traditional labor law work that gets done between unions and employers is not all that widespread.” However, it is important to note that NLRA laws still apply in the absence of a union.
There are many labor pitfalls for people who regularly do employment law even when there is no union involved. “The best work an attorney can do for their client is to be able to recognize when the NLRA has been implicated.
Many times an employer will violate the Act without even realizing it. For instance, an employee begins complaining to other employees about not getting a raise during the last quarter. There may be a very good reason this employee did not receive a raise. However, the employer cannot discipline this employee for complaining to other employees, even if there is a rule in the handbook which prohibits employees from discussing their wages.”
Another example of how NLRA laws apply in the absence of a union would involve two employees discussing their wages in the presence of a manager or supervisor, or engaging in “protected concerted activities.” The NLRA would protect the two employees from discrimination by the employer because they complained together. The employer would be similarly protected because they would be under no obligation to act on the employees’ discussion of their wages.
The highlights of Ohanesian’s presentation will include:
• A short history and structure of the National Labor Relations Board.
• Interfacing with regional offices of the NLRB.
• How charges and petitions are processed.
• Section 7 rights of employees under the NLRA.
• Common handbook rules that violate the National Labor Relations Act.
• What to avoid with employee evaluations.
• What can be done when a group of employees submits a petition to an employer.
• Discrimination on the basis of Section 7 Activities.
• Types of Discrimination covered by the NLRA.
• Weingarten rights and other places where the law may change.
• Questions and answers.
The program is May 13 from noon-1:45 pm in the Aetna Building Board Room, Jacksonville Bar Association Offices, 11th floor. The cost is $25.
Lunch will be provided and The Jacksonville Bar Association has applied for 1.5 hours of CLE for this program in Labor and Employment Law.