NLRB publishes (yet another) new joint employment rule

If at first (or second, or third…) you don't succeed, try, try again. That certainly seems to be the NLRB's mantra as it relates to its joint employment rule.

Joint employment is when one employer is responsible for the legal sins of another because of a commonality of employees. Under the standard newly announced by the NLRB, an entity may be considered a joint employer of a group of employees if each entity has an employment relationship with the employees and they share or codetermine one or more of the employees' following terms and conditions of employment:

WIRTW #693: the “tough out” edition

If you've been following along these past few weeks with the trials of the Lake Ridge Academy soccer team, I have some sad news to share. Earlier this week they fell 2-0 in the district semifinals to a quality opponent, ending their season. It was a hard-fought match, scoreless for 65 minutes. There were lots of tears in my car after the game. The team set a goal, of which they fell a couple of games short. That said, it was the best soccer season this team has had in 15 years.

Donovan had an amazing experience. He fully embraced being one of the "soccer boys," and is already thinking about his sophomore season. "220 days until practice starts," he told me the next morning. He's says he's going to start training ASAP with a personal goal of improving and gaining more playing time next year.

As for me, I've never been a sports parent before. I've always been a music parent (which y'all know I love). I'm happy to report that being a sports parent is pretty damn great. I loved everything about this team and this season. The wins and losses were the least import part. More importantly, I loved watching Donovan embrace being part of a team and the team embracing him as one of their own. Like D-man, I'm already ready for the 2024-25 season. 

Go Royals!

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Here's what I read this week that you should read, too.

Workplace harassment and employee assistance programs

Is it legal under the ADA to mandate that an employee accused of sexual harassment use the company's employee assistance program? That's the question being asked in a lawsuit the EEOC just filed against Weis Markets.

Do politics and work mix? A poll.

Do politics and work mix? That is the question being asked at Copper Blue Restaurant.

A half-dozen employees recently quit in protest after the owner posted a "Vote NO on Issue 1" sign in front of the restaurant. The resulting staffing shortage forced its temporary closure.

Issue 1 is a Nov. 7 ballot initiative that seeks to amend the Ohio's Constitution to grant women the right to an abortion.

Not surprisingly, the issue is polarizing.

Kickbacks are bad

It's one thing to settle an unpaid overtime claim; it's another entirely to shake down your employees to repay the settlement funds to you.

That's exactly what the Department of Labor claimed Sparklean Laundry and Piper did.

Following a DOL investigation, Sparklean agreed to pay unpaid overtime back wages to its employees. Shortly thereafter, it began demanding kickbacks from its employees to compensate for the overtime settlement, submitted false receipts to showing that it paid the recovered wages, and threatened workers for exercising their rights under the Fair Labor Standards Act.

As a result, the DOL went to court and obtained a $281,870 judgment, which included $87,735 in back wages, $94,135 in liquidated damages, and an additional $100,000 in punitive damages.

Is this what the future of union organizing looks like?

Last week, the employees of Creature Comforts Brewing Co. voted by a margin of 32-21 to reject the Brewing Union of Georgia as their bargaining representative and for their workplace to remain union-free. The National Labor Relations Board conducted and supervised the secret-ballot election, and the result presumes to reflect the choice of Creature Comforts' employees.

Except maybe that secret-ballot election is not the choice of Creature Comforts' employees?

I fully expect BUG to file a petition with the NLRB seeking a Cemex bargaining order. What is a Cemex bargaining order, you ask? 

WIRTW #692: the “hot diggity dog” edition

As parents, we live and die with the successes and failures of our children. We need to fully embrace the highs so that we have the stored capital to survive the lows. This past week brough me a couple of highs to share. 

First, last Saturday night, Norah took her musical talents eastward, to 8th Day Brewing Company. She played a killer 3-hour set, punctuated by the bar filling with a hot-dog themed bar crawl singalong for her final hour. 

Then, yesterday evening, Donovan's Lake Ridge Academy soccer team won their opening playoff game, defeating Waynedale 2-0. That's 1 down, 6 to go, on their march to a state title.

You can next watch Lake Ridge Academy try to continue their soccer season on Tuesday against Kidron Christian Academy, at a place and time tbd. Meanwhile, Norah will next gig at The Olde Wine Cellar on Friday, October 27, 2023. 

Everyone have a great weekend!