Palm Beach Gardens Unfair Labor Practices Attorney
The National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) guarantees the rights of workers to engage in concerted activity to improve their working conditions. Employers who interfere with these rights commit what are known as unfair labor practices. Under federal and state laws, an employee can seek certain remedies for these practices.
A qualified Palm Beach Gardens unfair labor practices attorney can review your case and advise you on the best course of action moving forward. At the Sconzo Law Office, P.A., we represent employees who have been illegally punished for attempting to engage in legally protected labor organizing activities. We can help ensure that your employer follows the law and respects your rights.
What Is an “Unfair Labor Practice”?
Most people associate the NLRA with the right to form a union. But that is just one of the rights guaranteed by the law. The NLRA also protects your right to discuss wages with your co-workers and your right to speak about working conditions publicly–including on social media–even if you do not form or join a union. The NLRA further ensures that employers cannot retaliate against any employee who exercises their rights.
Some common examples of unfair labor practices under the NLRA include:
- An employer cannot interfere with or restrain employees from forming a union.
- An employer cannot fire or take any adverse employment action against an employee who tries to start a union.
- An employer cannot implement workplace policies designed to discourage or forbid protected activities, such as banning conversations about pay or working conditions.
- An employer cannot refuse to collectively bargain with a union.
- An employer cannot discriminate against an employee based on their membership or non-membership in a union.
- An employer cannot fire, demote, reassign, or otherwise retaliate against an employee who files a claim alleging unfair labor practices.
It is also possible for labor unions to commit unfair labor practices as well. For example, a union may not threaten or coerce a worker to get them to join a union. Nor can a union start a strike over issues that are not related to the terms and conditions of employment.
Additionally, the law protects public as well as private sector workers. The Florida Public Employee Relations Act provides NLRA-like protections to most state, county, and local government employees. This means that public workers generally have the same rights to organize and engage in concerted activity to improve working conditions as people working for privately owned businesses.
Contact the Sconzo Law Office Today
Employees who have been the victim of unfair labor practices typically need to file a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board, which oversees the NLRA. Depending on the facts of the case, the NLRB or a court may order certain remedies, such as reinstatement of an employee who has been illegally fired with back pay. The employee may also be entitled to additional compensation and other relief, such as expungement of an employee record reflecting an illegal termination.
So if you have reason to believe that your employer is not complying with the law and would like to speak with a Palm Beach Garden unfair practices attorney, contact the Sconzo Law Office, P.A., today to schedule a complimentary consultation.
