Recent Posts
- Court Finds Withdrawal Liability Is Not A Plan Asset January 2012
- In a case where the employer was represented by lawyers from Susanin, Widman & Brennan, P.C.,
the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey found as a matter of law that unpaid
withdrawal liability does not constitute a “plan asset” under the Employee Retirement Income
Security Act (“ERISA”)...
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- The NLRB Again Postpones Posting of Employee Rights January 2012
- On December 23, 2011, the National Labor Relations Board announced that it would delay,
until April 30, 2012, the effective date, of its Final Rule requiring all employers subject
to the Board’s jurisdiction to post a notice in the workplace informing employees of their
rights under the National Labor Relations Act...
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- PA Court Allows Union Benefit Fund To Assert Mechanics Lien January 2012
- On January 6, 2012, the Pennsylvania Superior Court held, in a matter of first impression,
that employee benefit funds could file mechanics lien claims for unpaid contributions owed to
union members as a result of collective bargaining agreements between a contractor and the unions...
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- Whipsaw Strikers Denied Unemployment In Pennsylvania January 2012
- On January 12, 2011, in a case handled by lawyers from Susanin, Widman & Brennan, P.C., the
Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry (the “agency”) issued a notice of determination
that denied unemployment compensation benefits to a group of unionized employees for their participation
in a whipsaw strike...
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Supreme Court Will Review Constitutionality Of Health Care Reform
December 2011 - On Monday, November 14, 2011, the United States Supreme Court agreed to decide
the constitutionality of the sweeping health care reform law, known as the Patient
Protection and Affordable Care Act. The Court agreed to hear two major questions...
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Multiemployer Defined Benefit Pension Plan May Have Priority In Bankruptcy
December 2011 - The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit recently ruled that a multiemployer
defined benefit plan has priority over general unsecured creditors in bankruptcy proceedings
but only in certain limited circumstances. See In re Marcal Paper Mills, Inc., 650 F.3d
311 (3d Cir. 2011)....
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NLRB’s Controversial Boeing Complaint Withdrawn After Settlement
December 2011 - On December 9, 2011, the National Labor Relations Board approved the International
Association of Machinists’ request to withdrawal the controversial Complaint
issued against Boeing Company on April 20, 2011. The Union requested the NLRB to drop
the unfair labor practice Complaint...
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NLRB Finds Employer Waived Right To Fire Unlawfully Striking Employee
December 2011 - On November 18, 2011, the National Labor Relations Board ruled in a 2-1 decision that an
employer unlawfully fired approximately 146 union-represented employees after the union
conducted a strike without giving the required notice to the Federal Mediation and Conciliation
Service...
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Pennsylvania Employer Liable For Firing Crime Victim
December 2011 - In a case of first impression, the Pennsylvania Superior Court held that an employer may not
terminate an employee for filing criminal charges against a co-worker
[Rodgers v. Lorenz and Carload Express, 2011 Pa. Super. 154 (2011)].
This case arose out of employee Rodgers’ complaints about a co-worker’s harassment...
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New Posting Requirement For New Jersey Employers
November 2011 - On November, 7, 2011, the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development issued
another posting requirement for all New Jersey employers. The notice provides employees with
detailed information on what records must be maintained by employers...
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NJ Inadvertently Eliminates Overtime Exemption for Commissioned “Inside Sales”
November 2011 - The New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development recently amended its wage and
hour regulations in order to conform its overtime exemptions with the federal “white collar”
exemptions provided in the Fair Labor Standards Act...
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OSHA Stays Civil Proceedings Pending Criminal Prosecution
November 2011 - The Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission has directed an administrative
law judge to stay civil enforcement proceedings pending a potential criminal prosecution
against an employer. See Sec’y of Labor v. Aerospace Mfg. CT Systems, LLC, OSHRC,
No. 11-0315, September 22, 2011...
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2011 Collective Bargaining Data Shows 1.3 Percent Average Wage Increase
November 2011 - The Bureau of National Affairs, Inc. has recently published an analysis of
collective bargaining data compiled from September 19, 2010 through September
19, 2011. The data shows that the average first-year wage increase was 1.3 percent,
compared with 1.7 percent in the comparable period of 2010...
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