Steven M. Swirsky, Member of the Firm in the Employment, Labor & Workforce Management practice, in the firm’s New York office, was quoted in the New York Business Journal, in “From NDAs to Overtime Pay, the Federal Government Is Reshaping Employee-Employer Relations,” by Andy Medici. (Read the full version – subscription required.)
Following is an excerpt:
Companies need to monitor regulatory activity
Steven Swirsky, a management-side labor attorney and board director at Epstein Becker Green, said the NLRB hasn't just been expanding the rights of unions with its activity but those of all employees, working to expand the rights workers have under the National Labor Relations Act.
“We have seen a great deal more of that and movement in that direction under this administration,” Swirsky said.
The increased regulatory and ruling activity has meant a steady drumbeat of issues companies need to stay on top of, he added.
“It’s been two years of something every couple of weeks or every month,” Swirsky said of the NLRB decisions and rulings. He stressed that recently unions have won unionization elections at about an 80% rate, much higher than previously. “It’s something for employers to be mindful of,” he said.
For companies, the best strategy to avoid unionization at their own workplace is to ensure that employees don’t feel a need for it, whether it's better pay, benefits or other compensation methods. But once an election is underway, Swirsky said, workers are less likely to listen to arguments from a company.
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Board of Directors / Member of the Firm
