Overlawyered » labor unions http://overlawyered.com Chronicling the high cost of our legal system Sat, 25 May 2013 15:51:46 +0000 en-US hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.4 Diana Furchtgott-Roth on the “Persuader Rule” http://overlawyered.com/2013/05/diana-furchtgott-roth-persuader-rule/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=diana-furchtgott-roth-persuader-rule http://overlawyered.com/2013/05/diana-furchtgott-roth-persuader-rule/#comments Wed, 22 May 2013 11:14:09 +0000 Walter Olson http://overlawyered.com/?p=38619 Writing at Capital Research Center’s Labor Watch: A shocking change in American labor relations is brewing at the U.S. Department of Labor, which is expected sometime soon to alter a major regulation. The change involves a new interpretation of the “advice exemption” of the Labor Management Reporting and Disclosure Act. Specifically, businesses would have to [...]

Diana Furchtgott-Roth on the “Persuader Rule” is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

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A shocking change in American labor relations is brewing at the U.S. Department of Labor, which is expected sometime soon to alter a major regulation. The change involves a new interpretation of the “advice exemption” of the Labor Management Reporting and Disclosure Act. Specifically, businesses would have to disclose the names of, and fees paid to, attorneys and consultants who advise them on union-organizing activities. In turn, attorneys and consultants providing such advice would be required to disclose their client lists and the fees they receive.

If that sounds like a road map for retaliation and strong-arming, with dangers for traditional attorney-client confidentiality, well, you’re getting the idea. Furchtgott-Roth says the department has evaded regulatory review by low-balling the proposal’s billions of dollars in costs. “The change has no basis in existing law or precedent.”

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Diana Furchtgott-Roth on the “Persuader Rule” is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

]]> http://overlawyered.com/2013/05/diana-furchtgott-roth-persuader-rule/feed/ 2 Schools roundup http://overlawyered.com/2013/05/schools-roundup-7/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=schools-roundup-7 http://overlawyered.com/2013/05/schools-roundup-7/#comments Thu, 16 May 2013 04:08:46 +0000 Walter Olson http://overlawyered.com/?p=37951 More commentators weigh in on the truly horrible new federal campus speech and discipline code [Harvey Silverglate /Juliana DeVries, Minding the Campus; Wendy Kaminer, The Atlantic; Will Creeley, HuffPo; Scott Greenfield; Reason TV; my two cents] More: Greg Lukianoff, WSJ. Feds: states must impose extensive disability-rights regime — including obligations to accept students with difficult [...]

Schools roundup is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

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  • More commentators weigh in on the truly horrible new federal campus speech and discipline code [Harvey Silverglate /Juliana DeVries, Minding the Campus; Wendy Kaminer, The Atlantic; Will Creeley, HuffPo; Scott Greenfield; Reason TV; my two cents] More: Greg Lukianoff, WSJ.
  • Feds: states must impose extensive disability-rights regime — including obligations to accept students with difficult accommodation needs — on private/religious schools participating in voucher programs [Bagenstos, Disability Law; Ramesh Ponnuru (noting that loading new regulatory burdens onto private and religious schools may not be displeasing to school choice opponents in the administration)] NYC’s famous selective/performance schools obliged to take special ed kids who can’t meet standard entrance or audition requirements [Inside Schools]
  • Volunteer-led school band survives shutdown attempt by Oregon teachers’ union [Katherine Mangu-Ward]
  • AFT: donate to groups that oppose our aims, and we’ll see that you pay [Jason Bedrick, Cato]
  • Chicago: “Teachers union plans to file civil rights suits to stop school closings” [Chicago Tribune]
  • Newly passed Minnesota “anti-bullying” law will expand state control over local schools [Pioneer Press] Court proceedings over alleged taunting and insults proliferate under New Jersey’s law [Star-Ledger via Reason]
  • “Graduates, your ambition is the problem” [Roger Pilon on the president's Ohio State commencement address]
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    Schools roundup is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

    ]]>     http://overlawyered.com/2013/05/schools-roundup-7/feed/ 2     Michigan teachers’ union fails in lawsuit to block dues change http://overlawyered.com/2013/05/michigan-teachers-union-fails-lawsuit-block-dues-change/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=michigan-teachers-union-fails-lawsuit-block-dues-change http://overlawyered.com/2013/05/michigan-teachers-union-fails-lawsuit-block-dues-change/#comments Fri, 10 May 2013 14:11:08 +0000 Walter Olson http://overlawyered.com/?p=38236 A Sixth Circuit panel declines to strike down a state law under which public schools will no longer withhold union dues from teachers’ salaries. The Michigan Education Association had claimed that Public Act 53 interfered with its First Amendment right to speak. [David Shepardson, Detroit News] Tweet Tags: First Amendment, labor unions, Michigan, schools, Sixth [...]

    Michigan teachers’ union fails in lawsuit to block dues change is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

    ]]>     A Sixth Circuit panel declines to strike down a state law under which public schools will no longer withhold union dues from teachers’ salaries. The Michigan Education Association had claimed that Public Act 53 interfered with its First Amendment right to speak. [David Shepardson, Detroit News]

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    Michigan teachers’ union fails in lawsuit to block dues change is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

    ]]>     http://overlawyered.com/2013/05/michigan-teachers-union-fails-lawsuit-block-dues-change/feed/ 2     Workplace impunity a la francaise? http://overlawyered.com/2013/04/france-employment-law/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=france-employment-law http://overlawyered.com/2013/04/france-employment-law/#comments Tue, 16 Apr 2013 13:00:46 +0000 Walter Olson http://overlawyered.com/?p=37355 “A law working its way through [the French] parliament would grant amnesty to workers who have ransacked their company’s offices or threatened their bosses during a labor dispute.” [USA Today via Jon Hyman] Tweet Tags: crime and punishment, France, labor unions

    Workplace impunity a la francaise? is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

    ]]>     “A law working its way through [the French] parliament would grant amnesty to workers who have ransacked their company’s offices or threatened their bosses during a labor dispute.” [USA Today via Jon Hyman]

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    Workplace impunity a la francaise? is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

    ]]>     http://overlawyered.com/2013/04/france-employment-law/feed/ 0     Labor and employment roundup http://overlawyered.com/2013/04/labor-employment-roundup-11/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=labor-employment-roundup-11 http://overlawyered.com/2013/04/labor-employment-roundup-11/#comments Fri, 05 Apr 2013 04:05:49 +0000 Walter Olson http://overlawyered.com/?p=36933 Controversy over new EEOC guidelines on hiring ex-cons isn’t going away [James Bovard/Peter Kirsanow, Richard Epstein/Hoover "Defining Ideas", Kevin Funnell, Wendy McElroy/FEE] That goes double if it’s true: “You cannot fire a pregnant employee because ‘the baby is taking its toll on you’” [Cohen, Fox Rothschild] Maryland bill would grant pregnant employees right to accommodation, [...]

    Labor and employment roundup is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

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  • Controversy over new EEOC guidelines on hiring ex-cons isn’t going away [James Bovard/Peter Kirsanow, Richard Epstein/Hoover "Defining Ideas", Kevin Funnell, Wendy McElroy/FEE]
  • That goes double if it’s true: “You cannot fire a pregnant employee because ‘the baby is taking its toll on you’” [Cohen, Fox Rothschild] Maryland bill would grant pregnant employees right to accommodation, “less strenuous job duties” if needed [Baltimore Sun]
  • And similarly: “Is an employer obligated to provide light duty to an employee returning from FMLA leave?” [Jon Hyman]
  • Why Card-Krueger study doesn’t change Bryan Caplan’s view on economics of the minimum wage [EconLib]
  • Quest for a Labor Secretary even farther left than Hilda Solis eventuates in Tom Perez [Katrina Trinko, J. Christian Adams]
  • Unhappy aftermath of Connecticut nursing-home sabotage [Washington Examiner] Assaults by members of Teamster local in Philadelphia quarry dispute draw NLRB response [Pennsylvania Independent]
  • Will New York become the first state to create dangerous private right of action for “workplace bullying”? [Michael Fox]
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    Labor and employment roundup is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

    ]]>     http://overlawyered.com/2013/04/labor-employment-roundup-11/feed/ 0     Maryland roundup http://overlawyered.com/2013/03/maryland-roundup-3/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=maryland-roundup-3 http://overlawyered.com/2013/03/maryland-roundup-3/#comments Wed, 20 Mar 2013 04:06:27 +0000 Walter Olson http://overlawyered.com/?p=36986 Legislature won’t pass dram shop liability, lawyers ask Maryland high court to do so instead [Frederick News-Post] In St. Mary’s County, new visitor rules for elementary schools ban hugging or giving homemade food to any but own kid [Southern Maryland News] Progress: Maryland Senate votes to decriminalize small amounts of marijuana [NBC Washington] If it’ll [...]

    Maryland roundup is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

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  • Legislature won’t pass dram shop liability, lawyers ask Maryland high court to do so instead [Frederick News-Post]
  • In St. Mary’s County, new visitor rules for elementary schools ban hugging or giving homemade food to any but own kid [Southern Maryland News]
  • Progress: Maryland Senate votes to decriminalize small amounts of marijuana [NBC Washington]
  • If it’ll take $1 million for Somerset County (pop. 26,000) to cut stormwater nitrogen runoff by 145 pounds, how’s it going to manage to cut 37,000 pounds? [AP]
  • “Fracking Moratorium Falls One Vote Short of Passing Key Senate Committee” [Chestertown Spy] “Bill was more about preventing fracking than studying it.” [@ToddEberly]
  • Department of Truly Dreadful Ideas: Del. Ana Sol Gutierrez (D-Montgomery) continues to push bill to establish state-owned bank [Baltimore Business Journal]
  • Website attacking Montgomery County’s Valerie Ervin has some union fingerprints [WaPo] Sen. Brinkley blasts union bill to make all Md. teachers pay agency fees [Maryland Reporter]
  • Video interview with Hudson attorney George Ritchie on Waterkeeper v. Hudson Farm case [Center Maryland, earlier]
  • Added: “Md. Senate votes to outlaw smoking in cars with young children as passengers” [WaPo just now]
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    Maryland roundup is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

    ]]>     http://overlawyered.com/2013/03/maryland-roundup-3/feed/ 2     Toward a more uneducated electorate http://overlawyered.com/2013/03/toward-uneducated-electorate/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=toward-uneducated-electorate http://overlawyered.com/2013/03/toward-uneducated-electorate/#comments Thu, 14 Mar 2013 17:31:16 +0000 Walter Olson http://overlawyered.com/?p=36898 The teacher’s union in Oregon is trying to get the legislature to repeal a voter-approved measure that warns electors in the state when a property tax hike is on the ballot. I’ve got more at Cato at Liberty (& Brian Doherty, Reason). Tweet Tags: labor unions, Oregon, schools, taxes, Voting Rights Act

    Toward a more uneducated electorate is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

    ]]>     The teacher’s union in Oregon is trying to get the legislature to repeal a voter-approved measure that warns electors in the state when a property tax hike is on the ballot. I’ve got more at Cato at Liberty (& Brian Doherty, Reason).

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    Toward a more uneducated electorate is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

    ]]>     http://overlawyered.com/2013/03/toward-uneducated-electorate/feed/ 4     Labor and employment roundup http://overlawyered.com/2013/03/labor-employment-roundup-10/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=labor-employment-roundup-10 http://overlawyered.com/2013/03/labor-employment-roundup-10/#comments Wed, 13 Mar 2013 04:07:49 +0000 Walter Olson http://overlawyered.com/?p=36566 Great moments in union contracts: “Many Suburban Cops Allowed To Work ‘Half Drunk’” [NBC Chicago] California high court imposes arbitrary damage-splitting rule on mixed-motive firings [Cheryl Miller, The Recorder] More tales of much-forgiven Broward County bus drivers [Sun-Sentinel, background] Sixth Circuit: SEIU robocalls to harass hospital CEO don’t violate TCPA [Littler] Judge rejects EEOC position [...]

    Labor and employment roundup is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

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  • Great moments in union contracts: “Many Suburban Cops Allowed To Work ‘Half Drunk’” [NBC Chicago]
  • California high court imposes arbitrary damage-splitting rule on mixed-motive firings [Cheryl Miller, The Recorder]
  • More tales of much-forgiven Broward County bus drivers [Sun-Sentinel, background]
  • Sixth Circuit: SEIU robocalls to harass hospital CEO don’t violate TCPA [Littler]
  • Judge rejects EEOC position against alcohol testing of steelworkers in safety-sensitive posts [Paul Mirengoff, PowerLine, Reuters]
  • “NYFD made written test impossible to fail, but diversity recruits in Academy can’t meet physical standards either.” [Ted Frank/PoL]
  • “The March Toward a Bullying Cause of Action Continues” [Michael Fox, Employer's Lawyer; TheDenverChannel.com]
  • T’wasn’t easy for White House to find a new Labor Secretary to the left of Hilda Solis, but meet Tom Perez [WaPo]
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    Labor and employment roundup is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

    ]]>     http://overlawyered.com/2013/03/labor-employment-roundup-10/feed/ 3     Labor and employment roundup http://overlawyered.com/2013/02/labor-employment-roundup-9/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=labor-employment-roundup-9 http://overlawyered.com/2013/02/labor-employment-roundup-9/#comments Thu, 28 Feb 2013 04:07:22 +0000 Walter Olson http://overlawyered.com/?p=36396 On minimum wage these days, Krugman lets politics sit in for economics [David Henderson] Minimum wage hikes don’t cost jobs? A notion so ideologically convenient just has to be true [Steve Chapman] “Is employment a ‘human right’”? [Richard Epstein, Hoover "Defining Ideas"] Project labor agreements are an unjustified giveaway in New Jersey’s post-Sandy reconstruction [Trey [...]

    Labor and employment roundup is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

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  • On minimum wage these days, Krugman lets politics sit in for economics [David Henderson] Minimum wage hikes don’t cost jobs? A notion so ideologically convenient just has to be true [Steve Chapman]
  • “Is employment a ‘human right’”? [Richard Epstein, Hoover "Defining Ideas"]
  • Project labor agreements are an unjustified giveaway in New Jersey’s post-Sandy reconstruction [Trey Kovacs, CEI Open Market]
  • Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake proposes public pension reform [Baltimore Sun] Reality check on sunny New York projections [@NYDNHammond]
  • Peter Kirsanow on EEOC crackdown on criminal background checks [Employee Screen]
  • Three Missouri Dems favor bill making it felony for lawmakers to propose bills limiting union powers [Robby Soave, Daily Caller]
  • Meet the brothers who are standing up to union violence in Philadelphia construction [Jillian Melchior, NR, earlier]
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    Labor and employment roundup is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

    ]]>     http://overlawyered.com/2013/02/labor-employment-roundup-9/feed/ 2     Labor and employment roundup http://overlawyered.com/2013/02/labor-employment-roundup-8/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=labor-employment-roundup-8 http://overlawyered.com/2013/02/labor-employment-roundup-8/#comments Tue, 12 Feb 2013 12:18:43 +0000 Walter Olson http://overlawyered.com/?p=35897 “Lying to Doctors for Fitness for Duty Exam Can Still Get You Fired …But Only If You’re a Police Officer” [Connecticut cop smashed into two cars during epileptic seizure; Daniel Schwartz] “Emotional labor”: is having to be cheerful to customers a form of capitalist slavery? [Tim Noah v. Andrew Sullivan] CalPERS: “The pension fund that [...]

    Labor and employment roundup is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

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  • “Lying to Doctors for Fitness for Duty Exam Can Still Get You Fired …But Only If You’re a Police Officer” [Connecticut cop smashed into two cars during epileptic seizure; Daniel Schwartz]
  • “Emotional labor”: is having to be cheerful to customers a form of capitalist slavery? [Tim Noah v. Andrew Sullivan]
  • CalPERS: “The pension fund that ate California” [Steve Malanga, City Journal]
  • Restaurant Opportunities Center (ROC), other “worker centers” on the rise: “Will ‘alt-labor’ replace unions?” [Salon; critical anti-ROC site via Matt Patterson/CEI]
  • Without benefit of an act of Congress, EEOC is interpreting the law to prohibit transgender bias [Workplace Prof]
  • “The Nation: Government-Mandated Lunch Breaks are Somehow Libertarians’ Fault” [Shackford, Reason]
  • Historian challenges received account of Haymarket Affair [Ron Radosh]
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