Basics of American Labour Law

Abbreviations 6

CHAPTER I. Introduction 7
1.1. The Constitutional/Political situation 9
1.1.1. The Constitutional situation 9
1.1.2. The Political situation 10
1.2. The Hierarchy in Labour Law 13
1.2.1. Interstate commerce 13
1.2.2. Pre-emption 13
1.2.3. The impact of the Constitution and of International treaties 13
1.3. Enforcement 14
1.4. Applicable State Law 15
1.5. No uniform labour law 16

CHAPTER II. Individual Labour Law 17
2.1. Introduction 18
2.2. The contract of employment 19
2.3. The impact of the Collective Agreement 21
2.4. The impact of company handbooks 22
2.5. Discrimination 22
2.6. Wages – definition and protection 26
2.7. Minimum wage 27
2.8. Equal Pay for equal work m/f 29
2.9. Working Time 31
2.10. Paid vacation 31
2.11. Leave regulations 32
2.12. Health and safety at work 32
2.13. Liability for mistakes by the workers 34
2.14. The management right of the employer 34
2.15. Modification of the contract of employment 34
2.16. Transfer of enterprises 35
2.17. Non-compete agreements 35
2.18. Patents and copy rights 36
2.19. Bona Fides 37
2.20. Privacy 38
2.21. The Law on Dismissals 40
2.21.1. The basic rule 40
2.21.2. Deviations 40
2.21.3. Periods of notice 42
2.21.4. Other means to terminate a contract of employment 43
2.21.5. Remedies 43
2.22. Child Labour 44
2.23. Foreign workers 44
2.24. Job placement services 44

CHAPTER III. (Collective) Labour Law 46
3.1. General 47
3.1.1. The NLRA/LMRA and the LMRDA 47
3.1.2. The hard core: Art. 7 NLRA 48
3.1.3. Enforcement 48
3.1.4. Exceptions in the scope of the NLRA 50
3.1.5. State Law 51
3.2. Trade Unions and Trade Unions Rights 51
3.2.1. Trade Unions 51
3.2.2. Rate of organisation 52
3.2.3. Employers’ associations 52
3.2.4. Legal rules on trade unions 52
3.2.5. No interference with workers trade union rights and no discrimination 52
3.2.6. Facilities for trade unions 53
3.2.7. Protection against unions 54
3.2.8. The closed shop etc. 54
3.3. Collective bargaining 55
3.3.1. The coverage of collective agreement 55
3.3.2. The landscape of collective bargaining in the US 56
3.3.3. The right/duty to ‘bargaining in good faith’ 56
3.3.4. The items for collective bargaining 57
3.3.5. Bargaining, but only with the union , that has the support of the majority of the workers in the bargaining unit – if there is one! 59
3.3.6. Application of the collective agreements 61
3.3.7. Enforcement of the collective agreement 61
3.3.8. Support for the system of collective agreements 62
3.3.9. Mediation and Conciliation 63
3.4. Strikes 63
3.4.1. Introduction 63
3.4.2. The Right to strike 63
3.4.3. General limitations on the right to strike for workers under collective agreements 64 Specific limitations on the right to strike 65
3.4.4. Position trade unions 66
3.4.5. Position individual strikers 67
3.4.6. Position non-strikers 67
3.4.7. The lock out 67
3.4.8. The right to replace 68
3.4.9. State law 69
3.4.10. Specific regimes 69
3.4.11. Enforcement 69
3.4.12. Inquiry, mediation and arbitration 70
3.5. Employee involvement in the enterprise 70

Concluding remark 71
Further reading 71