The Just Workplace discusses contemporary issues in labor and employment law and emphasizes how these subjects affect employees in a variety of workplace settings. The blog covers an array of employment issues, including labor and employment policy, current events and noteworthy developments in the field, and legal opinions from federal and state courts and administrative agencies such as the National Labor Relations Board, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and the Federal Labor Relations Authority. Although the content contained in The Just Workplace is not legal advice and should not be considered as such, the blog seeks to be a resource for individual employees negotiating employment, retirement, and severance agreements, as well as union-members and officials subject to collective bargaining agreements.

The Just Workplace is produced by the attorneys at Peer, Gan & Gisler, LLP, a Washington, D.C.-based law firm with a nationwide litigation practice and a special focus on the effective resolution of labor and employment disputes.

Update: DC Council Passes Paid Family Leave

We recently reported that Washington, DC had made significant progress towards passing one of the most generous paid family leave laws in the country. Two days ago, DC took an enormous leap forward when the City Council passed the Universal Paid Leave Act by a 9-4...

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Parsonage Update: Gaylor v. Lew

In 2011, the Freedom From Religion Foundation (“FFRF”) challenged the constitutionality of the parsonage tax exemption contained in Section 107 of the Internal Revenue Code. Section 107 allows clergy to exclude certain housing expenses from their gross income. FFRF’s...

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New York City Bike Couriers are Organizing

We are rooting for the bike couriers of New York City, who have recently formed the New York Messengers Alliance in an effort to harness their collective strength as they seek to improve their pay and benefits. There are some interesting parallels between these...

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Musicians and the Ministerial Exception

Music is a vital part of worship for many religions. But at what point should a musician be considered a religious minister? The answer to this question has legal ramifications for musicians who work at congregations, schools, and/or other religious institutions....

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Busting Police Unions Won’t Fix the Problem

On Labor Day Eve 2016, the New York Times published an editorial criticizing the role of police unions during the current era of police brutality. While NYT is right to call out recent egregious police behavior and there is something to be said for taking union...

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Your State May Not Like Your Non-Compete Clause

The Wall Street Journal today reported on two cases of employers in two different states (New York and Illinois) who are being investigated for illegal/unfair conduct because they required their junior/entry-level employees to sign non-competition clauses in their...

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Recapping August 2015 at the NLRB

The National Labor Relations Board spent some time in the limelight this August after issuing decisions in two high-profile cases with major implications for labor rights across the country. In Browning-Ferris Industries of California, the Board broadened the...

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The Minimum Wage Anomaly

It is difficult to reconcile the passage of multiple state ballot measures to increase the minimum wage with a rather poor showing for Democrats in Tuesday’s midterm elections.  The Wall Street Journal tries to explain.    

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No More Jimmy John’s For Me

I’ve probably gobbled up 800 inches (67 feet) of Jimmy John’s turkey subs in the last five years (that’s 100 sandwiches).  But no more.  Sometimes a company’s employment practices will cause me to say, “no thank you.”  After reading Neil Irwin’s piece in today’s New...

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Summer at the NLRB

The National Labor Relations Board has been busy this summer making bold decisions that could have far-reaching implications. The NLRB’s most publicized action this summer occurred on July 29 when the Office of the General Counsel announced that it would treat...

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The Right to Unionize Meets College Football

Northwestern Football Players Seek to Unionize There’s some interesting labor law news today from an unlikely source – college football players at Northwestern University. Tom Farrey of ESPN’s Outside the Lines first reported that members of the Northwestern football...

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NLRB Gives Up on Notice Posting Rule

National Labor Relations Board Decides Not to Seek Supreme Court Review of Cases Invalidating Notice Posting Requirement According to an NLRB press release issued on January 6, 2014, the NLRB will not petition the Supreme Court to challenge two U.S. Courts of Appeals...

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Add Nevada to the List

The list of states that have enacted laws prohibiting employers from accessing applicants’ and employees’ private social media sites keeps growing, and Nevada is the latest addition. This past summer, Governor Brian Sandoval signed Assembly Bill 181 into law. Section...

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And Oregon Makes Ten

Social Media Protections Extended to Employees and Job Applicants in Oregon. Add Oregon to the list of states enacting laws prohibiting employers from accessing their employees’ private social media sites.  The new Oregon law becomes effective January 1, 2014 and...

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Honoring Labor

In honor of Labor Day, former NLRB Member and Chair Wilma Liebman reminds us of what labor unions mean to this country and why they're worth fighting for.

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Study Shows Pay Gap Between Male and Female Rabbis

Over the last forty years, Reform Judaism’s seminary, the Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion, has ordained almost 600 women rabbis.  There are currently a total of 2,000 Reform rabbis in North America.  For many years, those close to matters of...

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SCOTUS Limits Federal Employees’ Recourse

Elgin v. Department of Treasury: Employees Covered by CSRA May Not Challenge Dismissal in District Court While not the decision in the healthcare case that we have all been awaiting, the Supreme Court issued a decision this morning that will affect federal sector...

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Being Your Own Best “Free Agent”

If you are in the overwhelming category of employees who are not covered by a collective bargaining agreement, then you are in essence a free agent. With the evolution of the workplace, acceleration of new technologies, and the increase in job specialization, many...

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Update to NLRB’s Notice Posting Rule

Due to some court challenges by business interests, the NLRB has been temporarily enjoined from implementing the rule requiring employers to post notices informing employees of their rights under the National Labor Relations Act.  See our previous blog post to find...

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The Illusion of the “Make Whole” Remedy

In arbitration, advocates for suspended or discharged employees routinely argue for a “make whole” remedy, which includes back pay and restoration of benefits and seniority rights. The idea is that a worker should be put into the position he would have been in had the...

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A Return to 1934?

Section 1 of the National Labor Relations Act (from the original 1935 Wagner Act) is premised on facilitating the flow of commerce by reducing industrial “strife and unrest” through collective bargaining and peaceful dispute resolution mechanisms.  In light of the...

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Captive Audiences

Once again, our friend Dmitri has an interesting piece on labor law in today's union-unfriendly environment. Check out this piece in the Providence Journal on employer captive audience speeches and employees' First Amendment rights. (originally posted December 3,...

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Chipping Away at Title VII

The Supreme Court has just taken another bite out of employees' rights to challenge workplace discrimination. The decision limits employees' ability to redress discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 unless they can point to a "discrete act"...

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