Thanks to the National Labor Relations Board (the NLRB), companies need to add employee manuals to the list of things that need spring cleaning. Specifically, the NLRB’s Office of the General Counsel issued a 3/18/2015 report full of examples of how your company’s employee manual likely violates the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA).
For background,
Arbitration agreements are common in the employment relationship. And employers understand that normally an employee must sign such an agreement in order for it to be enforceable. But what happens if your company’s policy is to require employees to arbitrate a dispute unless the employee takes some action to opt-out of the employment arbitration agreement?
[T]he Lie, as a recreation, a solace, a refuge in time of need … man’s best and surest friend, is immortal, and cannot perish from the earth … My complaint simply concerns the decay of the art of lying.
From the Art of Lying by Mark Twain.
Mr. Twain’s concern about the decay of
Most employers understand that an employee manual is a cornerstone of good HR best practices. Unless, however, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) says otherwise, which means your company’s employee handbook could be a source of liability.
This point was recently illustrated in a recent decision where the NLRB affirmed a finding that DirectTV’s employee