tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26621986817335657822024-02-20T01:32:43.543-08:00What Makes Us Work?Attorney, arbitrator, mediator and ALJ Pilar Vaile discusses updates and issues of interest in Labor and Employment law, from the perspective of an ADR Professional.
For more information on the author, please see www.pilarvailepc.com.Pilar Vaile, Esq.http://www.blogger.com/profile/14704156079003286540noreply@blogger.comBlogger66125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2662198681733565782.post-71283665799889155932015-07-20T19:48:00.000-07:002015-07-20T20:07:40.584-07:00FLSA & NM Wage Law--What is "Any Week of Seven Days"?<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">No doubt like similar statutes in other states, the New Mexico Minimum Wage Act (MWA) requires an employer to pay overtime wages for hours worked in excess of forty hours in "any week of seven days." In 2013, the New Mexico Court of Appeals has concluded that "any week of seven days," which is not defined in the MWA, "means </span></span></div>
<a name='more'></a><span style="font-size: small;">a fixed and regularly recurring workweek established by an employer consistent with the federal Fair Labor Standard Act (FLSA) and regulations" promulgated thereunder. <u>See</u> Sinclaire v Elderhostel, Inc., 2012-NMCA-100. (Ooops, I forgot this in my Draft Box for a tad bit of time....)</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">In <u>Sinclair</u>, the Elederhostel employment handbook provided for a specific work week of 12:01 a.m. Sunday to 12:00 a.m. the following Saturday. However, as an educational tour leader, employee Peter Sinclair week varied with the particular educational tour program and he might work from Wednesday to Wednesday, or from Sunday to Saturday. Notably, there could be considerable difference in overtime owed depending on how the "week of seven days" is calculated. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Sinclair had argued, essentially, that "an employer must calculate each employee's workweek on the basis off the seven-day period the employee actually works, not on the basis of a fixed seven-day period arbitrarily established by the employer." <u>Id.</u> Para. 9; <u>cf.</u> 29 CFR 778.105 ((2011) (a "workweek is a fixed and regularly recurring period of 168 hours--seven consecutive[twenty-four] hour
periods" that "may begin on any day and at any hour of the day." </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The Court noted that the purpose of the MWA is to "protect<span style="font-size: small;"> wor<span style="font-size: small;">ker's health and well-being," and it concluded that <span style="font-size: small;">E<span style="font-size: small;">lderhostel's estab<span style="font-size: small;">li<span style="font-size: small;">shm<span style="font-size: small;">ent of a fixed week "is not <span style="font-size: small;">i<span style="font-size: small;">nconsistent<span style="font-size: small;">" with that policy. It also noted that <span style="font-size: small;">"a fixed workweek"--unlike the "fluctuating workweek method of ca<span style="font-size: small;">lculating overtime" in <u>DOL v. Echos</u><span style="font-size: small;"><u>tar</u>, 2012-NMCA-059--</span></span>does not necessarily favor the employer <span style="font-size: small;">under all circumstances." </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">Sinclair argued that Elderhostel "manipulated its workweek and establ<span style="font-size: small;">ished it so as to avoid <span style="font-size: small;">p<span style="font-size: small;">aying the <span style="font-size: small;">maximum amount of overtime,<span style="font-size: small;">"but the Court was not persuaded that wa<span style="font-size: small;">s the case. I<span style="font-size: small;">t observed that out of 32 weeks examined, Sinclair re<span style="font-size: small;">ceived the maximum ov<span style="font-size: small;">ertime available </span></span>at least half the time.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span> U<span style="font-size: small;">ltimately, the <span style="font-size: small;">Court</span></span> concluded that "<span style="font-size: small;">[<span style="font-size: small;">i]t makes sense that em</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">ployers should be required to establ<span style="font-size: small;">ish a fixed work week ... in order to have predictability and certain<span style="font-size: small;">ty about payrol<span style="font-size: small;">l<span style="font-size: small;">s.<span style="font-size: small;"> S</span>o lon<span style="font-size: small;">g as <span style="font-size: small;">an employer pays its employees a premium for the ove<span style="font-size: small;">rtime worked in the establ<span style="font-size: small;">ished workweek, that employer is in compliance with Section 50-4-22(C). </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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Pilar Vaile, Esq.http://www.blogger.com/profile/14704156079003286540noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2662198681733565782.post-39831398988906892372013-05-06T13:00:00.002-07:002023-02-11T21:58:38.165-08:00Two Interesting NM Public Sector Labor Law Updates<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><u>State v. AFSCME 18 and CWA</u>, 2012-NMCA-114 (cert. granted)</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">In the long-awaited --but still not final-- appellate court decision, the New Mexico Court of Appeals upheld an arbitration award concerning the fiscal year 2009 pay rasies for State employees.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">As people who follow these issues will recall, the 2005 collective bargaining agreements (CBA) for both AFSCME and CWA employees provided for specific salary increases for three fiscal years, ending in FY2009. One FY 2009 provision called for a 2% general salary increase effective July 1, 2008 for employees in each Union's bargaining unit, "subject to the Governor's recommendation." The second FY2009 provision called for a 2% increase effective January 1, 2009 that would be "compa-ratio based within band" and "subject to legislation appropriate." If either were not implemented because the Legislature failed to approrpiare sufficient funds, the Unions would have the right to reopen bargaining as to general salary and within band salary increases effective for the fiscal year following the year in which the Legislature failed to appropriate sufficient funds. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The FY2009 budget was passed in the midst of an economic meltdown in 2008. It is undisputed that the Legislature would have needed to appropriate $8 million to cover the negotiated salary increases for AFSCME and CWA bargaining unit mbers, but $15.9 million to cover all eligible classified employees--"both unrepresented workers as well as Union-represented employees."</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">At that time, the Unions lobbied for raises for their own bargaining unit members pursuant to the CBA. The State Personnel Office (SPO), however, took the position that it must give raises to all classified employees, not just those covered by CBA. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Ultimately, the Legislature appropriated $12.8 million for FY2009 "to provide incumbents in agencies governed by the Personnel Act ... with an average salary increase of two and four-tenths percent ... based on employee job performance as determined by the personnel board," effective July 1, 2008. Not surprising, SPO argued the appropriation was inadequate to provide a 2.4% salary increase to all employee, while the Unions argued that appropriation was sufficient to fund the negotiated raises to Union bargaining members since the legislation spoke only of "average" salary increases.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Thereafter, the Unions filed two separate grievance for contract violation and both arbitrators concluded the legislation appropriation was sufficient to fund the negotiated salary increases to bargaining unit members, SPO appealed the awards, which were upheld by the District Court and then the Court of Appeals.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> Both positions are tenable. The Union's is supported by the language of the contract and its duty to aggressively represent its bargaining unit members. However, SPO's position points to a moral argument that many non-union members might find compelling: that it is unfair for tax payers to fund a raise for only some public employees when the difference in treatment is not related to productivity or other performance standards based criteria.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I foresee the Supreme Court also upholding the arbitration awards because the contract language is what it is. However, if the dispute ever makes it beyond the radar of public sector agents and labor practitioners, it could a bit of a stink with the general public. This is not to say the Unions are wrong for pressing their members' rights under the contract even if at the expense of non-bargaining unit members. This is also not to say that I presume the State is operating in non-bargaining unit members' interests when it appeals the arbitration awards. It all just is what it is, and not everyone would find this situation peachy. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><u>AFSCME 18, et al. v. City of Albuquerque</u>, 2013-NMCA-012 (cert. granted)</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">At first blush, this case seems to stand only for the entirely unsurprising conclusion--first stated in Albuquerque v. Montoya, 2012-NMSC-007--that PEBA does not impose an "effectiveness" requirement for labor management relations ordinance (LMRO) provisions to be accorded grandfathered status. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Here, the Union challenged the impasse provisions as ineffective because it did not result in final, binding arbitration or some other "final" resolution. The Court of Appeals noted--as it had before--that, to the contrary, the reenacted PEBA removed "effectiveness" related provisions for the very old grandfathered LMROs (pre-October 1991), such as that it have "resulted in the designation of appropriate bargaining units, the certification of exclusive bargaining agents, and the negotiation of existing collective bargaining agreements." <u>See</u> NMSA 10-7D-26(B) (repealed 1999).</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">There were some interesting points in the decision, however. First, nearest and dearest to my heart, the Court seems to have finally acknowledged th<span style="font-size: small;">at there are in fact three layers of local boards<span style="font-size: small;">: the very old, those simply <span style="font-size: small;">pre-dating PEBA I</span><span style="font-size: small;">, and newer PELRB approved boards. </span></span></span>Prior court decisions have treated 26(B) [previously 26(C)] as applying equally to all but the very old LMROs.<span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.pelrb.state.nm.us/pdf/peba/pelrbpracticemanual.pdf">PELRB
Practice Manual</a>, pp. 97-98.</span></span>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Second, and likely to be quite significant going forward, the Court concluded that the appropriations limitation in Section 10-7E-17(E) provides equally well to the contract terms continuing in effect under the evergreen provision, Section 10-7E-18(D), as to newly negotiated contract provisions. This will provide powerful incentive against relying overly much on the evergreen position in the face of negotiation obstacles related to finances.</span></span></div>
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Pilar Vaile, Esq.http://www.blogger.com/profile/14704156079003286540noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2662198681733565782.post-40642915472861294292013-04-23T19:52:00.002-07:002013-04-23T19:52:46.061-07:00Workers Compensation--What are "Average Wages" When Wages Overlap?<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The New Mexico Court of Appeals recently addressed how to calculate an employee's average weekly wages for <span style="font-size: small;">purp<span style="font-size: small;">oses of</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><a href="http://www.pilarvailepc.com/laborlaw.html"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span>workers' compensation</a></span><span style="font-size: small;">, when the employee was in<span style="font-size: small;">jure<span style="font-size: small;">d on on<span style="font-size: small;">e</span> job but<span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></span>worked two unrelated, overlapping jobs of unequal duration. <u>See</u> Vinyard v. Palo Alto, Inc. d/b/a Pizza Hut, 2013-NMCA-001.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The employee was injured on the job delivering pizza for Pizza Hut, but also worked a side job as a horse trainer for his family's business. For purposes of workers comp benefits, "[t]here is no dispute that Worker is entitled to receive compensation benefits reflecting his wages from both jobs," but the parties "vigorously disputed how to compute the aggregate weekly wage to be used to determine the value of those benefits."</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">The employee--and the Workers Comp Mediator--had suggested an "<span style="font-size: small;">asymmetric<span style="font-size: small;">" calculation option, whi<span style="font-size: small;">ch would ta<span style="font-size: small;">ke the weekly average of both </span>the 9 weeks as <span style="font-size: small;">pizza delivery</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span> and the 14 <span style="font-size: small;">weeks as hor<span style="font-size: small;">se trainer, and then aggregate the two averages. However, the WCJ <span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">r</span>e<span style="font-size: small;">jected this</span> method because it counted time with another employer</span>. Concluding there was "no controlling authority" for dealing with this si<span style="font-size: small;">tuation, the WCJ instead </span></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">calculated <span style="font-size: small;">average weekly wages based on<span style="font-size: small;">ly on the nine week period that <span style="font-size: small;">weekly wages of the two jobs o<span style="font-size: small;">verlapped. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">The <span style="font-size: small;">Court </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">reversed the Workers Comp Judge (W<span style="font-size: small;">CJ)</span>. It <span style="font-size: small;">no</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span>ted that "[t]he purpose of the Workers' Compensation Act is to compensate an injured employee for the reduction of his earning capacity," and "[f]airness mandates compensating the worker according to what he would have <span style="font-size: small;">earned in total had he not been injured." Thus, a fair calculation of wages should "eliminate in<span style="font-size: small;">flu<span style="font-size: small;">ences that might inflate or deflate the wage from an fair averag<span style="font-size: small;">e,<span style="font-size: small;">" such as "periods of unusually high or low wages," that <span style="font-size: small;">"unfairly benefit or preju<span style="font-size: small;">dice the worker."</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">Nonetheless, "where a <span style="font-size: small;">worker had concurrent employment and where the injury arose in the course of only one job, the worker was entitled to compensation for his entire <span style="font-size: small;">loss of earning capacity in both job<span style="font-size: small;">s." </span></span></span> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span> Moreover, "the employer <span style="font-size: small;">on whose job site the injury occurred would be solely responsible for the worker<span style="font-size: small;">'s compensation based on the aggregate of the worker's average wages with both employers."</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">In this case, the Court concluded, "[t]he WCJ's mistake was in going outside of Subsection (B) in choosing a shorter number of weeks Worker was employe<span style="font-size: small;">d by Employer (Pizza Hut) when computing the total<span style="font-size: small;"> wages earned in both jobs ... The WC<span style="font-size: small;">J's incorrect legal conclusion turned on the determination that any calcu<span style="font-size: small;">lation under Subsection (B)</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span> was 'no<span style="font-size: small;">t appropriate' and that the average week<span style="font-size: small;">ly <span style="font-size: small;">wage <span style="font-size: small;">could not be 'fairly calculated' simply 'because of multiple employers.'" The Court noted that the WCJ<span style="font-size: small;"> did not address why his own calculation<span style="font-size: small;"> resulted in a more fair result. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">The Court <span style="font-size: small;">held that "under a typical concurrent <span style="font-size: small;">employment situation such as this case </span></span>, each employer's average weekly wage is to be individually determined according to Sub<span style="font-size: small;">s</span>ection (B)(1), and an average weekly wage based on the aggregate of all <span style="font-size: small;">averages should then be calculated."</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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Pilar Vaile, Esq.http://www.blogger.com/profile/14704156079003286540noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2662198681733565782.post-11493189345982495172013-01-11T10:40:00.002-08:002013-01-11T10:41:06.649-08:00NLRB & Social Media<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">As a labor and employment mediator and arbitrator, I have been alternatingly intrigued and concerned about recent NLRB guidelines and ALJ rulings concerning use of and limitations on the use of social media. <u>See</u><span style="font-size: small;">, <u>e.g.</u>,</span> Aug. 18, 2011 NLRB Office of General Counsel Report </span></span></div>
<a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">(discussing 14 cases social media/employment cases investigated in 2011); <i>His</i><i>panics United of Buffalo, Inc.</i>, NLRBALJ, No. 3-CA--27872; and <i>Karl Knauz Motors, Inc.</i>, NLRBALJ, No. 13-CA-46452.</span></span><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: small;">These NLRB developments are intriguing because social media is so hip and now, and ubiquitous, and its use is only going to spread and grow in the future. Also, it is undeniable that social media can, although does not necessarily, implicate concerted activity for mutual gain or benefit.</span></span>
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The NLRB developments are concerning because any clear and firm guidelines tend to be rather elusive, and they are therefore bound to be widely misunderstood and misinterpreted unless and until their are better clarified. </span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: small;">Susy Hassan does a good job of summarizing and clarifying the little bit we do know in <i>Regulating Employee Social Media Use</i>, ABA's <u>GP Solo</u>, Sep./Oct. 2012. She distills and summarizes the following points:</span></span>
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">- use of social media may constitute protected concerted activity where the employee discusses terms and conditions of employment "in a manner that is meant to induce or further group action;</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">- this is particularly true where the social media statements "grow out of an earlier discussion about terms and conditions of employment among co-workers;"</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">- but the "object of inducing group action need not be express;" </span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">- a social media statement is not likely to constitute concerted activity where it falls more in the nature of "an individual complaint about working conditions specific to the employee and is not directed to co-workers or meant to induce group action;"</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">- employee comments that are "maliciously false" are not protected concerted activity, although that standard is unclear and likely very high;</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">- "offensive or inappropriate comments about an employer's clients are also unlikely to be protected," although that is again an unclear standard;</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">- the employer will only be liable for violating rights of concerted action "where it is established that the employer in fact knew of the 'concerted nature of the activity;' " and</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">- social media policies will be found invalid where the language is so over-broad or vague/subjective as to "effectively prohibit employees from engaging in protected activity," such as by prohibiting "inappropriate discussions" about the company or management, or stating "no one should be disrespectful" or "injure[] the image or reputation" of the employer.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span>
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Pilar Vaile, Esq.http://www.blogger.com/profile/14704156079003286540noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2662198681733565782.post-21252079676434309822012-12-23T15:42:00.001-08:002012-12-23T15:42:13.334-08:00Public Sector Woes Part III: Public Sector CBAs & Unilateral Change <div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">As readers may know, I have been doing a series of reviews/commentaries based on the Winter 2012 ABQ Journal of Labor & Employment Law, which is largely devoted to the recent travails of <span style="line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://www.pilarvailepc.com/laborlaw.html">public sector collective
bargaining</a></span>. One article, by Stephen F. Befort, asks why is unilateral change somehow more acceptable or possible in the public sector. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">He begins with the premise that in tough economic times public employers frequently "take aim at workforce costs" and sometimes even unilaterally modify the terms of collective bargaining agreements. He contrasts this to the situation in the private sector, where such conduct is both a breach of contract and an unfair labor practice. He identifies the culprit, or source of this difference, as the "diffusion of authority" between the executive branch in charge of administrative and employment matters, and the legislative branch in charge of funding and law making. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">First, "[t]his diffusion of authority creates the potential for unilateral change if the legislature fails to appropriate all the funds necessary to implement a contract negotiated by the executive branch." For example, in <u>Police Benevolent Ass'n v. State</u>, 818 So.2d 584 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 2002), the executive branch negotiated a 5% pay raise, but the Legislature only appropriated enough funds for a 2.5% increase. The Union filed suit, but the court "held that, pursuant to the separation of powers doctrine, the legislature had the exclusive right to appropriate funds and was not bound to fund the economic terms negotiated y the executive branch."</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The same reasoning has been applied to actions by local bodies, such as school boards, dependent on an external funding source. In <u>Philadelphia Federation of Teachers, Local No. 3 v. Thomas</u>, the court said "the dependent funding scheme made the contract severable in nature, with each year of the contract subject to an implied condition precedent that adequate funding would be forthcoming."</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Nonetheless, there are limits on the ability to get out from under CBAs based on funding limitations. The executive branch lacks authority to directly, unilaterally modify the CBA, or to unilaterally withhold funds that have been adequately appropriated, while the legislature can only work through its power of purse and may not directly modify a CBA, and also may not seek to revoke funds previously appropriated. <u>Prof'l Eng'rs in Cal. Gov't v. Schwarzenegger</u>, 239 P.3d 1186 (Cal. 2010), AFSCME/Iowa Council 61 v. State, 484 NW.2d 390 (1992); <u>State of Florida v. Florida Police Benevolent Ass'n</u>, 613 So.2d 415 (Fla. 1992);</span></span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> and <u>Chiles v. United Faculty of Florida</u>, 615 So.2d 671 (Fla. 1993)</span></span>.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Second, there is diffusion in authority due to the Legislature's law making function. As Befort notes, "[t]he usual ban on unilateral change also may not apply when a governmental entity with lawmaking authority ... enacts a statue or ordinance that attempts to alter the terms of an existing [CBA]. If that entity is not a statutory 'employer' under the pertinent state labor-management statute, the sole avenue for challenging such a modification is to proceed under state and federal constitutional provisions." He argues that under <u>United States Trust Co. v. New Jersey</u>, 431 US 1 (1977), there should be a "heightened standard for scrutinizing laws that impair public contracts" because of the State's self-interest and potential conflict is at stake, but that "[a] significant and apparently growing minority of decisions ... have afforded substantial deference to such modifications." <u>See, e.g.</u>, <u>Baltimore Teachers Union v. Mayor of Baltimore</u>, 6 F.3d 1012 (4th Cir. 1993) (representing minority view of deference) ("at least some deference to legislative policy decisions to modify ... contracts in the public interest must be accorded"); <u>compare</u> <u>Ass'n of Surrogates and Supreme Court Reporters Within the City of New York v. State (Surrogates I)</u>, 940 F.2d 766 (2d Cir. 1991) ("refusing to examine the governmental fiscal crisis without also regarding the 'personal fiscal crises" that a lag payroll scheme would cause). </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Ultimately Befort concludes that this difference in the ability to unilaterally change public sector CBAs, as compared to private sector CBAs, and the growing judicial deference towards modifying public sector agreements, "represents an assessment that public-sector [CBAs] are not as worthy of protection as other types of governmental contracts." He further argues "[t]his view is an undesirable vestige of the discredited notion that public employees owe a duty of 'extra loyalty" to the state.'" </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">A number of other commentators, however, <span style="font-size: small;">point the fundamental different betw<span style="font-size: small;">een public and <span style="font-size: small;">private sector bargaining, including the "public weal" or trust implicated in the former, and the difference in <span style="font-size: small;">arm<span style="font-size: small;">s' length bargaining </span></span></span></span></span></span></span>act between the two s<span style="font-size: small;">ectors</span>. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><u>See</u> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">R. Theodore Clark, Jr.,<span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>Public Sector Collective Bargaining at the crossroads</i>, </span></span><u>The Urban Lawyer</u>, Vol. 44, No. 1, Winter 2012<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">, and </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">Martin H. </span>Malin, </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><u><span style="font-size: small;">Labor & Employment</span></u><span style="font-size: small;">, <i>The Legislative Upheaval in Public Sector Labor Law</i>. </span> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Th<span style="font-size: small;">ey would argue that the <span style="font-size: small;">significant differences in pu<span style="font-size: small;">blic</span> and private se<span style="font-size: small;">ctor bargaining do justify their different <span style="font-size: small;">treatment. </span></span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">As <span style="font-size: small;">I noted in <span style="font-size: small;">the first blog in this series (<span style="background-color: #f3f3f3;"><span style="background: #F3F3F3; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><a href="http://albuquerqueadr2.blogspot.com/2012/11/public-sector-collective-bargaining-woes.html">Public
Sector Collective Bargaining Woes</a></span></span>),<span style="font-size: small;"> " 'truth<span style="font-size: small;">'</span> may be impossible to discern where
politics, ideology and crisis intersect. Any view can be argued with the
use of statistics, and the "right answer" one settles on will likely
derive more from your worldview or political stripe, than any
objectively and indisputably verified 'truth.'" Nonetheless, I continue to believe that these different "articles add important detail and nuance that can help us see a bigger
picture and hopefully move beyond a purely mechanistic, ideological
view<span style="font-size: small;">" th<span style="font-size: small;">a<span style="font-size: small;">t so <span style="font-size: small;">starkly marks public debate today.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">As a side note, I <span style="font-size: small;">myself am a public sector arbitrator. Accordingly, I readily<span style="font-size: small;"> admit that I</span> benefit personally and hugely from a continued<span style="font-size: small;">, vibrant public sector bargaining industry. </span></span> That said<span style="font-size: small;">, I<span style="font-size: small;"> <span style="font-size: small;">recognize the need to reconcile <span style="font-size: small;">my personal benefit/interest with the need for a wider, more thoughtful and nuanced discussion be<span style="font-size: small;">tween stakeholders--preci<span style="font-size: small;">sely so th</span>e public sector <span style="font-size: small;">ca<span style="font-size: small;">n continue to remain <span style="font-size: small;">vi<span style="font-size: small;">b<span style="font-size: small;">rant</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span>. </div>
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Pilar Vaile, Esq.http://www.blogger.com/profile/14704156079003286540noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2662198681733565782.post-67876377663032959032012-11-27T07:35:00.003-08:002012-11-27T07:35:51.547-08:00Public Sector Woes Part II -- Compensation, Pension Etc. Analyzed<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">In
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</xml><![endif]--><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><a href="http://albuquerqueadr2.blogspot.com/2012/11/public-sector-collective-bargaining-woes.html">last
blog</a></span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">,</span> I wrote generally about the "upheaval" or "cross roads" that <a href="http://www.pilarvailepc.com/laborlaw.html">public sector
collective bargaining</a> finds itself in today. <u>See also</u> <a href="http://albuquerqueadr2.blogspot.com/2011/03/unions-role-in-new-normal_09.html">Unions’
Role in “the New Normal”</a>. This second blog looks specifically at issues of public sector compensation <span style="font-size: small;">and</span> reform, particularly pension reform of which I've also written before. <u>See</u> <a href="http://albuquerqueadr2.blogspot.com/2010/12/public-sector-pensions-times-they-are.html">Public
Sector Pensions -- The Times They are a-Changin'</a>. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Such <span style="font-size: small;">r</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">eforms </span>range from attempts to limit the scope of <span style="font-size: small;">public bargaining as it relates to compensation; the move from defined contribution (DC) to <span style="font-size: small;">defined benefit (DB)</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">pension </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span>plans; establishment of two-tier plans with significantly less gener<span style="font-size: small;">ous benefits going forward; reduction in annual COLA adjustments to retiree pension benefits; increases in annual contri<span style="font-size: small;">butions; new and heightened eli<span style="font-size: small;">gib</span>ility requirements for benefits; efforts to reduce retiree health care benefits; layoffs and furloughs<span style="font-size: small;">; wage freezes and cuts; and "do<span style="font-size: small;">wn<span style="font-size: small;">sizing or right-si<span style="font-size: small;">zing government." <u>Id</u>.; </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><u>see also</u> </span><span style="font-size: small;">R. Theodore Clark, Jr., </span><span style="font-size: small;"> <i>Public Sector Collective Bargaining at the crossroads</i>, <u>The Urban Lawyer</u>, Vol. 44, No. 1, Winter 2012; and Robert Clark, </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>Evolution of Public-</i><span style="font-size: small;"><i>Sector Re</i><span style="font-size: small;"><i>tirement Plans: Crisis, Challenges, and Change</i>, A<span style="font-size: small;">BA Journal.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span> <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">As with the my <span style="font-size: small;">last <span style="font-size: small;">blog, I am struck how the commenta<span style="font-size: small;">tors represent pretty divergent views on the factual cause and moral justification of the demand for these re<span style="font-size: small;">forms. For instance, Eric M. Mad<span style="font-size: small;">iar states bluntly in the first sentence of his article that "[p]ublic pension benefits are under <span style="font-size: small;">siege,</span>" and goes on to add that this is so "for two reasons: opportunity and political motives." <u>See</u> <i>P</i><span style="font-size: small;"><i>ublic Pension Benefits Under S</i><span style="font-size: small;"><i>iege: Does State Law Facilitate or Block Recent Efforts to Cut the Pen</i><span style="font-size: small;"><i>sion Benefits of Public Servants?</i>", ABA Journal of Labor & Employment Law, Vol. 27, No. 2, Winter 2012 ("ABA Journal"). In Madiar's view, <span style="font-size: small;">conservative politicians jump<span style="font-size: small;">ed on the "opportunity" of the <span style="font-size: small;">2008 stock market crash <span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">to "arm-wrestl[e] over money." He argues it is simply easier and more palatable to cut pensi<span style="font-size: small;">on benefits of public employees "than to raise taxes, cut services, or both."</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">In </span>th<span style="font-size: small;">is context, though</span>, Jeffrey H. Keefe concludes the <span style="font-size: small;">pension "crisis" is not so bad<span style="font-size: small;">. <span style="font-size: small;">Evidencing </span>that crisis like beauty may be in the eye of the <span style="font-size: small;">beholder, <span style="font-size: small;">he</span></span><span style="font-size: small;"> argues that </span>"state and local plans do not face an immediate liquidity crisis" because "most plans will be able easily to cover <span style="font-size: small;">benefit</span> payments for the next fifteen to twenty years." <u>See</u> <i>State and Local Public Employees: Are </i><span style="font-size: small;"><i>They Overcompensated?</i>, ABA Journal.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">In contrast, R. Theodore Clark, Jr. document<span style="font-size: small;">s that <span style="font-size: small;">pension reform efforts ha<span style="font-size: small;">v</span></span>e <span style="font-size: small;">actually be<span style="font-size: small;">en going on for some time, and asserts they have always motivated by the <span style="font-size: small;">specter</span> of <span style="font-size: small;">ever<span style="font-size: small;"> growing unfunded liabilities.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span> <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><u>See</u> <i>Public Sector Collective Bargaining at the crossroads</i>, <u>The Urban Lawyer</u>, Vol. 44, No. 1, Winter 2012. He describes eleven states' attempts at reform between between 2001 and 2010, although such efforts have obviously been seriously ramped up since the 2008 economic crisis. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">Clark <span style="font-size: small;">Jr. </span><span style="font-size: small;">also points to a 2010 Pew study that conc<span style="font-size: small;">luded there is now at least a</span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"> trillion dollar gap in unfunded pension and retiree healthcare liabilities ($555 billion and $452 billion, respectively), although some commentators put that gap </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">in the realm of $3.23 trillion. </span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><u><span style="font-size: small;">See</span></u> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Robert Novy-Marx of Univ. of Chicago and Joshua Rauh of Northwestern University (2009)</span><span style="font-size: small;">.</span></span><span style="font-size: small;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">U<span style="font-size: small;">n</span>like Keefe, commentator Robert Clark sees in all th<span style="font-size: small;">is cause for great concern, <span style="font-size: small;">noting<span style="font-size: small;">: "[s]om<span style="font-size: small;">e analysts project that several state retirement plans will exhaust their pension funds in the next t<span style="font-size: small;">en to fifteen ye<span style="font-size: small;">ars." <span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">Commentators are also split on <span style="font-size: small;">the</span> <span style="font-size: small;">v</span>eracity of the typical justification for high public sector pensions--lower public sector compensation--and </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">the compara<span style="font-size: small;">tive costs and values of public-private pensions</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span>. For instance, <span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">Keefe argues that public sector employees are not overcom<span style="font-size: small;">pensated, but rather "slightly uncompensated" (by 5.6<span style="font-size: small;">%)</span> when "controlling for education, ex<span style="font-size: small;">perience, hours of work, gender, race, ethnicity, and disability</span></span>." In particular, he notes that on average, public sector employees are more highly educat<span style="font-size: small;">ed than priv<span style="font-size: small;">ate sector employees, and he concludes that on average college-educated labor is paid 25% less in the public sector and that the<span style="font-size: small;"> public sector professionals are paid 37% less than private sector cou<span style="font-size: small;">n<span style="font-size: small;">terparts. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span> <br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">In cont<span style="font-size: small;">rast, a number of p</span>roponents of pension reform argue that public sector wages or equal to or even higher than private sector employees, and that such benefits are more costly in the pubic sector. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">R. <span style="font-size: small;">Theo<span style="font-size: small;">dore</span></span></span> Clark's concludes, based on analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data, that "at the median" public sector employees <span style="font-size: small;">receive significantly more compensation tha<span style="font-size: small;">n their private sector counterparts:</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">- </span></span>state and local gover<span style="font-size: small;">nment hourly rate is 40.3% higher than the private sector hourly rate;</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">- </span>public sector employees "receive three more paid <span style="font-size: small;">holidays, six more pa<span style="font-size: small;">id</span> sick leave days, and approximately two more paid <span style="font-size: small;">vacations than their counterparts in the private sector;"</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">- a<span style="font-size: small;"> "not <span style="font-size: small;">ins<span style="font-size: small;">ig<span style="font-size: small;">nificantly </span></span></span>higher percenta<span style="font-size: small;">ge of state and local government employees have access to medical care benefits, and the cost ... <span style="font-size: small;">to prove these benefits is sub<span style="font-size: small;">stantially higher;"</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">- "percentage of public employees who have retiree health care benefits is approxi<span style="font-size: small;">mately four <span style="font-size: small;">times as great as<span style="font-size: small;">" in private sector;</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">- more public sector than private sector employees have pension <span style="font-size: small;">benefits, and <span style="font-size: small;">public sector employees more typically have <span style="font-size: small;">a defined benefit p<span style="font-size: small;">ension rather than the <span style="font-size: small;">defined contribution <span style="font-size: small;">pension as in private sector today; and</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">- the cost of providing public sector pension or retirement benefits is more than twice as <span style="font-size: small;">expensive as pro<span style="font-size: small;">viding such benefits in the private sector.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><u>Id</u>.; <u>see also</u> Roger Lowenstein, </span><span style="font-size: small;"><span id="btAsinTitle"><u>While America Aged:
How Pension Debts Ruined General Motors, Stopped the NYC Subways,
Bankrupted San Diego, and Loom as the Next Financial Crisis</u><span style="text-transform: capitalize;"></span></span>.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">To this long laundry list of enhanced public sector comp<span style="font-size: small;">ensation factors, some com<span style="font-size: small;">mentators <span style="font-size: small;">wo</span></span>uld </span>add the considerable job secu<span style="font-size: small;">rity in <span style="font-size: small;">the public sector. 2010 BLS data indicating "the avera<span style="font-size: small;">ge private-sector worker had a 17.8% change of being discharged or laid off during the year, while the average p<span style="font-size: small;">ublic employee had a 6.8% change of involuntary job loss."<span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">Andrew G. </span>Biggs & Jason Richwine argue that this amounts to a 15% <span style="font-size: small;">increase in compensation. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><u>See</u> <i>Are California Public Employees Overpaid?</i></span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> (2011, Heritage Foundation).</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Biggs & Richwine also point out elsewhere that both sides of the debate about relative under- or over-compensation often fail to accurately value public sector defined benefit pensions. Specifically, they argue that </span><span style="font-size: small;">most valuations only look at the amount of money set aside for pensions (i.e. employer cost), and in the process "dramatically undervalue public employees' retirement benefits" since public employers are not setting aside $1 for every $ in pension benefit, as with a defined contribution (DC) plan. Additionally, guaranteed DC plans are inherently more valuable than defined benefit (DB) plans, which are subject to market losses. Adjusting for these factors, the authors conclude that public sector pension values are three times higher than reported by some commentators, and may amount to 25-37% of wages. <u>See</u> <i>The Effect of Pension Accounting Rules on Public-Private Pay Comparisons</i>, ABA Journal (the authors note that a similar adjustment in valuation would be required for private sector defined benefit programs, but "because they are less common and less generous in the private sector, the adjustments would be relatively small"). </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span> <br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">What <span style="font-size: small;">is one to make of all these competin<span style="font-size: small;">g theories<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"> and </span>statisti<span style="font-size: small;">cs? As I w<span style="font-size: small;">rot<span style="font-size: small;">e in </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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</xml><![endif]--></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><a href="http://albuquerqueadr2.blogspot.com/2012/11/public-sector-collective-bargaining-woes.html">Part
I</a></span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">,</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">"</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">'<span style="font-size: small;">t</span>ruth<span style="font-size: small;">'</span>
may be impossible to discern where
politics, ideology and crisis intersect<span style="font-size: small;">."</span> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span> I think<span style="font-size: small;"> most people will <span style="font-size: small;">likely</span> make of it what they are predisposed to so based on their personal <span style="font-size: small;">ideolo<span style="font-size: small;">g</span>y or wor<span style="font-size: small;">ldview. </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">Nonetheless, I hope by comparing these different articles to add "important detail and
nuance," because </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">we don't necessarily have all the answers even when we feel so certain in our views. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span>I'm called to mind a p<span style="font-size: small;">hrase an old boyfriend used to use: always certain and frequently wrong<span style="font-size: small;">.</span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></span></span><br />
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">If you have any <a href="http://www.pilarvailepc.com/laborlaw.html">labor
or employment matters</a>
that you would like to resolve privately through a knowledgeable and experienced
arbitrator or mediator, please feel free to contact Pilar Vaile, P.C. at (505)
247-0802, or <a href="mailto:info@pilarvailepc.com">info@pilarvailepc.com</a>.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.pilarvailepc.com/attorney.html">Pilar Vaile</a></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.pilarvailepc.com/index.html">Pilar
Vaile, P.C.</a> </span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.mapquest.com/?version=1.0&hk=6-AihX16Jm">Albuquerque, NM</a></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><u>Sources</u></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Winter 2012 issue of the ABA Journal of Labor & Employment Law</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Winter 2012 issue of The Urban Lawyer</span></span></div>
Pilar Vaile, Esq.http://www.blogger.com/profile/14704156079003286540noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2662198681733565782.post-3226620934454160722012-11-12T22:32:00.001-08:002012-11-12T22:32:07.162-08:00Public Sector Collective Bargaining Woes <h3 class="post-title entry-title" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-weight: normal;">
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<![endif]--><span style="font-size: small;">In December 2010, I blogged about the travails facing public sector pension funds, and in March 2011 I wrote a bit about the general "upheaval" in </span><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<![endif]--><a href="http://www.pilarvailepc.com/laborlaw.html">public sector
collective bargaining</a><span style="font-size: small;">. <u>See</u> <a href="http://albuquerqueadr2.blogspot.com/2010/12/public-sector-pensions-times-they-are.html">Public
Sector Pensions -- The Times They are a-Changin'</a> and </span><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://albuquerqueadr2.blogspot.com/2011/03/unions-role-in-new-normal_09.html">Unions’
Role in “the New Normal”</a>. Both of these subjects have now captured the interest of a number of <span style="font-size: small;">commentators </span></span><span style="font-size: small;">and my next couple of blogs will analyze some recent articles. This first blog in the series looks at the general climate change and "upheaval," and the idea that public sector labor is at a "crossroads." Review of three articles articles in particular, which represent more moderate, liberal, and conservative views of the issue, are a helpful orientation.</span></div>
<a name='more'></a><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">Martin H. Malin </span><span style="font-size: small;">gives an overview of the recent changes in law passed in Wisconsin, Illinois, New Jersey, Oregon, New Hampshire, California and Massachusetts, and </span><span style="font-size: small;">rejected by voters by referendum in Ohio. He</span><span style="font-size: small;"> argues that this is just another cycle in the life of public bargaining. </span><span style="font-size: small;"> </span><u><span style="font-size: small;">Labor & Employment</span></u><span style="font-size: small;">, <i>The Legislative Upheaval in Public Sector Labor Law</i>. Paul M. Secunda, focuses on the Wisconsin dispute in particular, and concludes that the so-called "budget repair bill," Senate Bill 10, was an "unprecedented attack on public-sector bargaining," politically motivated, and simply used the financial crisis to unravel employees' bargaining rights. <u>Id</u>., <i>The Wisconsin Public-Sector Labor Disputes of of 2011</i>. R. Theodore Clark, Jr. firmly grounds all of the changes, including that in Wisconsin, in drastic but ultimately prudent management to address budgetary crises, and to "scale[] back" public sector compensation packaged "back to something more reasonably in balance with the private sector." </span><span style="font-size: small;"><u>The Urban Lawyer</u>, <i>Public Sector Bargaining at Crossroads</i>, </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><i><br /></i></span>
<span style="font-size: small;">Somewhere in between or among these opposing views is the truth. However, "truth" may be impossible to discern where politics, ideology and crisis intersect. Any view can be argued with the use of statistics, and the "right answer" one settles on will likely derive more from your worldview or political stripe, than any objectively and indisputably verified "truth." Nonetheless, all three articles add important detail and nuance that can help us see a bigger picture and hopefully move beyond a purely mechanistic, ideological view.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: small;">Secunda believes "the economic circumstances surrounding the recession did not require the enactment of [Wisconsin's] Act 10" and was purely </span><span style="font-size: small;">"punitive." </span><span style="font-size: small;"> He argues that "a number of provisions in the law, including an annual union recertification requirement and an anti-dues checkoff provision, ... had absolutely nothing to do with cost savings," and notes that it was passed under a "legislative procedure which could only be utilized if Act 10 did not have any impact on state fiscal policy." He sees Act 10 as part of an "orchestrated" movement by "anti-union groups" because "similar attacks against public unions took place simultaneously across the country." Ultimately, he believes, this movement is designed to make it "more difficult for public-sector unions effectively to organize their workers." </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;">Secunda cannot see a connection between the Great Recession, documented growing public resentment of record deficits and public spending, and these changes. He apparently believes the "anti-union" drive is the sole produce of an extreme right wing fringe group, much like Reagan once asserted the rise in socialistic consciousness and desires for land reform in South and Latin America must be due solely to external communistic influences from the Kremlin and/or Cuba.</span></div>
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Malin puts the events in Wisconsin and similar communities in context of cyclic history of public bargaining's approval rating. <span style="font-size: small;">He argues that "[r]ecent decades have seen major swings in the pendulum concerning public employee collective bargaining rights." He outlines 1990s reforms in Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Illinois, and the sunsetting of and failure to extend collective bargaining in my own state, New Mexico. He concludes this decade was "characterized by considerable backlash against public employee collective bargaining, particularly in public education." However, "[t]he first decade of the new century saw the pendulum swing in the opposite direction," as represented by a wave of pro-bargaining reforms in Illinois</span><span style="font-size: small;">, Wisconsin, New Jersey, Oregon, New Hampshire, California, and New Mexico . Several state unwound the 1990s reforms, New Mexico reenacted co</span><span style="font-size: small;">llective bargaining, and the other states mandated "card-check" recognition and/or extended b<span style="font-size: small;">argaining rights to home health care aids and in-<span style="font-size: small;">home day care providers</span></span>.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;">Malin observes that both the 1990s "backlash" and the 2011 "upheaval," were fueled by the same criticisms: "that public sector collective bargaining distorts democracy by giving one interest group--public emloyees and their unions--an avenue of access to goernment decisionakers that no other group enjoys; ... that collective bargaining is not conducted at arm's length because public officials desire the campaign support of the unions sitting across the bargaining table;" that this in turn, "results in bloated salaries and benefits, excessive staffing levels, inefficient work rules, job security for poor performers, the absence of merit in employment decisions, and the stifling of innovation in the delivery of public services." Clark has similar criticisms.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;">Compared to Malin, </span><span style="font-size: small;">Clark takes a longer historical view. He outlines the concomitant rise of public sector bargaining and decline in private sector bargaining. He nods to the irony that in 1960s, Wisconsin was the first state to enact legislation extending collective bargaining rights to public sector employees--much as, today, it was the first state to ratchet those rights back. He points out that "between 1960 and 2010, the percentage [of overall American unionism rates] dropped from 28.6% to 11.9%," with percentage of private sector unions "declin[ing] more than five-fold, form 37.0% to just 6.9%, between 1960 and 2010," and "public sector unions increasing "over eight-fold" from 6% t 51.8% over the past 50 years since 1960s. <br />
</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;">What Clark doesn't specifically detail is the general growth in middle-class and national GDP during the 50 year time period before the turn of the 21st Century, and the increased financial distress and declining growth in recent years. In any event, there's </span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">clearly </span>a pattern here: when times are good and coffers are flush, largese has been shared with public servants; when the times are marked by severe financial stress, there are political calls for changes in collective bargaining. Is it diabolical in either event, or simply understandable and/or pragmatic? I wouldn't try to guess on this record.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;">But, for whatever reasons you believe the 1990s and 2011s backlash/upheavals </span>derive, it is also clear that "upheaval" is not an exageration and public sector is indeed "at a crossroads," as Clark argues. <span style="font-size: small;">Clark identifies substantial reform in eleven (11) states: Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, </span><span style="font-size: small;">Massachusetts, Michigan, </span><span style="font-size: small;">Nebraska, New Jersey, Ohio, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Wisconsin; and the aborted </span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">reform attempts in Ohio</span></span>. Malin identifies two additional states: Oklahoma, Nevada, and he categorizes the changes into four basic, but overlapping, categories:</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">- repeal of right to bargain (Oklahoma, Tennessee, Wisconsin);</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">- limiting the scope of bargaining (</span><span style="font-size: small;">Idaho,</span><span style="font-size: small;"> Illinois,</span><span style="font-size: small;"> Indiana,</span><span style="font-size: small;"> Massachusetts, </span><span style="font-size: small;">Michigan,</span><span style="font-size: small;"> </span><span style="font-size: small;">New Jersey, </span><span style="font-size: small;">Ohio</span><span style="font-size: small;">); </span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">- impasse resolution (Idaho, </span><span style="font-size: small;">Illinois</span><span style="font-size: small;">, </span><span style="font-size: small;">Indiana, </span><span style="font-size: small;">Michigan, </span><span style="font-size: small;">Nebraska, </span><span style="font-size: small;">New Jersey, Nevada, </span><span style="font-size: small;">Ohio, </span><span style="font-size: small;">Wisconsin</span><span style="font-size: small;">); and</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">- provisions related to financial distress (Michigan, Nevada, Ohio).</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">Malin notes that "[b]y far the most numerous changes made in the upheaval of 2011 concerned the scope of bargaining." </span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: small;">Recognizing that this movement--be it upheaval, cross roads, bump in the road, natural swing of the pen<span style="font-size: small;">dulum,</span> or whatever--likely goes beyond the whims of a handful of isolated right wing legislators, Malin notes that the "future of public-sector collective bargaining laws largely depends on the voters</span><span style="font-size: small;">." In light of the reversal of Ohio reforms through<span style="font-size: small;"> </span>referendum, he </span><span style="font-size: small;">ponders--perhaps pr<span style="font-size: small;">esciently--</span>"[w]hether the Ohio vote marks the start of another reversal of the pendulum," and forecasts that "</span><span style="font-size: small;">[u]ltimately, the 2012 elections will likely determine the direction in which the pendulum swings."</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"> </span><span style="font-size: small;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span>
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<span style="font-size: small;">If you have any <a href="http://www.pilarvailepc.com/laborlaw.html">labor
or employment matters</a>
that you would like to resolve privately through a knowledgeable and experienced
arbitrator or mediator, please feel free to contact Pilar Vaile, P.C. at (505)
247-0802, or <a href="mailto:info@pilarvailepc.com">info@pilarvailepc.com</a>.</span></div>
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<br />
<br />
<u><span style="font-size: small;">Sources</span></u><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">Winter 2012 issue of the ABA Journal of Labor & Employment Law</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">Winter 2012 issue of The Urban Lawyer</span></div>
Pilar Vaile, Esq.http://www.blogger.com/profile/14704156079003286540noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2662198681733565782.post-2330492383145010492012-10-17T14:20:00.000-07:002012-10-17T14:20:32.992-07:00NM Workers Comp Tidbits<div style="text-align: justify;">
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">As a <a href="http://www.pilarvailepc.com/attorney.html">labor/employment mediator, arbitrator and ALJ</a>, I strive to keep abreast of--and inform my readers of noteworthy labor and employment cases. Although the <a href="http://www.pilarvailepc.com/laborlaw.html">Workers Comp
Administration</a> in New Mexico maintains its own stable
of mediators and ALJs, I like to keep up with this area of law also,
mostly because the issues that arise are so darn interesting. Two
recent cases highlight that.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><u> </u></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">In <u>Castillo v. Caprock Pipe & Supply, Inc.</u>, 2012-NMCA-085 (cert. den.), Employee
contracted and died from a disease (psittacosis) contacted from
exposure to roosting pigeons while working as a warehouse laborer at
Caprock Pipe & Supply, Inc., an oilfield supply business. His estate filed a wrongful death suit
in civil court and employer sought to dismiss it under the exclusivity
provisions of the Workers Compensation Act (WCA) or Disease Disablement
Law (Disablement Law).</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The Court concluded Employee Castillo's injury and death did not fall within the exclusivity provisions of the Disablement Law, because there was insufficient causation to categorize his disease as occupational. <span style="font-size: small;">Under </span>§ 42-3-32, the defined occupational diseases are "deemed to arise out of the employment only if there is a direct causal connection between the conditions under which the work is performed and the occupational disease and which can be seen to have followed as a natural consequence of the work as a result of the exposure occasional by the nature of the employment... " <span style="font-size: small;"><u>Id</u>. Thus, the Disablement Law "clearly requires the disease to be closely related to the nature of the employment." </span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><u>Castillo</u>, <span style="line-height: 115%;">¶</span> 5. In other words, "the disease must be one due wholly to causes and conditions which are normal and constantly present and characteristic of the particular occupation[.]" Id. [internal citations omitted]. However, here there was "no evidence .. that pigeons or psittacosis are incidental to the character of the oil field supply business or such businesses that employe people within warehouses." <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><u>Id</u><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">, ¶</span> 6</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">.</span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">Nonetheless, the Court concluded the Employees injury and death <u>were</u> covered by the WCA. First, it concluded the injury/exposure arose "in the course of" employment, </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">rejecting the Estate's argument that "roosting pigeons where unrelated to Castillo's job," except by location. The Court concluded that under New Mexico case law, </span></span></span>"an injury occurs in the course of employment when it takes place within the period of employment, at a place where the employee may reasonably be, and while the employee is reasonably fulfilling the duties of employment or doing something incidental to it." </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">Next, the Court concludes that the injury/exposure "arose out of" Castillo's employment. Here, the Court paid more shrift to the unusual circumstances of the exposure. The Estate had argued that Castillo's injury was not related to his job duties, that roosting pigeons was not an "inherent part of one's job as a warehouse laborer at an oilfield supply business," and that contacting psittacosis from roosting pigeons was "not a rational consequence of being a warehouse laborer." </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><u>Id</u><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">, ¶</span> 11</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">. </span></span></span></span></span>However, when exposed to the pigeon feces, the Employee was performing activities instructed to do by his employer, and these were not abnormal or non-work-related duties. Additionally, the Court concluded causation was not "negated" by the unusual circumstances associated with the environmental condition of pigeon feces, since it "was because of his employment taht Castillo contracted the disease and died." <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><u>Id</u><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">, ¶<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">¶</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"></span> 13, 15</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">.</span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">In <u>Cordova v. KSL-Union and CMSI</u>, 2012-NMCA-083 (cert. den.), a union Employee was injured after he had already begun the paperwork and preparations for retirement. Thereafter, he retired prior to reaching maximum medical improvement (MMI), at which time the Employer declined to offer his a new job at equal or greater wage. At the time of retirement, Employee received his maximum retirement benefit and additional time working for the union would not increase his retirement pension. Moreover, under the terms of the retirement, "he was required to terminate his employment with Employer effective the date he chose to retire, and he was prohibited from working as a union member at any time in the future." <u>Id.</u>, </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">¶ 3.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span> After MMI, he was offered a position as a non-union foreman for another company, but could not accept it because of his injuries. </div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The Workers Comp Judge (WCJ) entered a ruling that the Employee was entitled to "modifier-based permanent partial disability" (PPD), meaning PPD enhanced for age, education, skills, etc. Under </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">§ </span></span>52-1-26(D) and case law, an employee's disability rating shall not be subject to such modifications if the employee returns to work at a wage greater or equal to the pre-injury wage, <u>or</u> if he unreasonably refuses such work. The WCJ concluded this section did not apply because the Employer did not offer a job at reater or equal the pre-injury wage. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The Court of Appeals rejected this reasoning, holding the Employer was not required by statute to make such a job offer. However, the Court concluded the WCJ's ultimate ruling--award of modifier-based PPD benefits---was nonetheless correct because the Employee's reasons for not accepting other jobs at greater or equal the pre-injury wage were reasonable: (a) he would gain nothing by delaying retirement, (b) he could not work a union job once retired, and (b) he could not perform the non-union jobs offered due to his injury.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The Employer argued it should not be liable to pay modifier-based PPD benefits "because Worker voluntarily removed himself from the workforce," and "[t]he terms of [his] retirement effectively prevented Employer from offering employment to Worker to reduce its liability." The Employer also argued that "the decision to retire was reasonable only from Worker's financial perspective." The Court disagreed, noting there is nothing in case law "which requires a worker to consider the employer's interest in deciding whether to accept the employer's offer," and the Employee "would gain nothing by remaining at his union employment with Employer because he was already going to receive his maximum retirement benefit." The Court added that "[w]hile Worker chose to retire, he did not choose to get injured, nor did he choose when he would get injured."</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">If you have any <a href="http://www.pilarvailepc.com/laborlaw.html">labor
or employment matters</a>
that you would like to resolve privately through a knowledgeable and experienced
arbitrator or mediator, please feel free to contact Pilar Vaile, P.C. at (505)
247-0802, or <a href="mailto:info@pilarvailepc.com">info@pilarvailepc.com</a>.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.pilarvailepc.com/attorney.html">Pilar Vaile</a></span></span></div>
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Pilar Vaile, Esq.http://www.blogger.com/profile/14704156079003286540noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2662198681733565782.post-46151145239830286462012-10-01T14:40:00.000-07:002012-10-01T14:40:10.705-07:00Albuquerque's Labor Ordinance Still Grandfathered<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">This year, the State Supreme Court struck a highly symbolic blow for the continuing efficacy of grandfathered local labor boards. Back in 2010, the Court of Appeals had reversed then-District Court Judge Bill Lang, and upheld PELRB Director Juan Montoya, in determining that the interim appointment provision of City of Albuquerque's local labor relations ordinance was not entitled to grandfathered status. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Under the provision, the City Council President is to appoint an interim member "with due regard to the representative character of the [Local] Board." The provision came before the State Board (the PELRB) when the "neutral" member of the City Board recused himself. The Court of Appeals noted PEBA requires a local board to be balanced and neutral, and reasoned that "the president's effort to incorporate neutrality in an often highly polarized environment is not sufficient to uphold the integrity of the essential process." It concluded that the interim appointment provision "effectively remove[d] from an employee the 'bargaining' aspect of collective bargaining when it establishes a process whereby two-thirds of a local board could be comprised of appointees pursuant to management recommendations." </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The Supreme Court rejected this reasoning on two fronts, and concluded that the provision does not contradict PEBA's definition of collective bargaining. First, it rejected the Court of Appeal's characterization of the City Counsel President as "managerial personnel." The City Counsel is "the legislative body of the city," while the Mayor is "the elected officer of the city who exercises administrative control and supervision over the city and hires or appoints directors of all city departments," and who is charged with appointing one member to the Local Board. The City Charter also specifies the City Counsel "shall not perform any executive functions" except as assigned by the Charter. <u>Id</u>. <span style="line-height: 115%;">¶<span style="line-height: 115%;">¶</span></span><span style="line-height: 115%;"></span> 17-19. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Second, the Court rejected the Court of Appeal's assumption that the President would be unable to make the appointment "with due regard to the representative character of the [Local] Board" due to the "highly polarized environment" of a labor-management dispute. "This assumption ... is contrary to our case law that 'a public official is presumed to properly perform his or her duty." <u>Id</u>. <span style="line-height: 115%;">¶</span> 20, <u>citing</u> Ruiz v. Vigil-Giron, 2008-NMSC-063.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I think this decision, frankly, could have gone either way and the only thing that gives me pause is the acknowledgement in one of the final paragraphs that the local ordinance defines collective bargaining as "a procedure whereby representatives of the city government and an employee organization meet, confer" etc, while PEBA defines it as "the act of negotiating between a public employer and an exclusive representative..." Here, the City Counsel President is pretty clearly a "representative of City Government," even if not a member of the executive branch. Moreover, to the extent he or she is engaging in collective bargaining and/or appointing labor board members, it can as easily be said they are violating the Charter prohibition on performing executive functions than that they are not performing executive functions because the Charter forbids it. In other words, the decision reads well enough but holes can be poked in it, just as it pokes holes in the Court of Appeals decision.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Ultimately the matter is now settled, and since the City's interim appointment provision is unique this exact issue will not arise again. Further, even though largely symbolic because the application is so narrow, the Court's decisive tone in supporting a grandfathered ordinance should stand in stark opposition to inchoate tendencies or desires to undermine or challenge grandfathered local boards. For example, I've <!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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</xml><![endif]--><a href="http://albuquerqueadr2.blogspot.com/2012/03/pelrb-watch-and-other-nm-labor-news.html">previously written
about</a> a series of PERLB decisions in which Director Tom Griegos "<span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">concluded
and the Board has affirmed that the PELRB can apply case law governing
PELRB approved local boards to grandfathered boards, to revoke the
latter’s grandfathered status." To the extent that conclusion by the Board was intentional or strategic, and not simply the result of sloppy analysis, <u>City of Albuquerque</u> should slow such a tendency down. </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">If you have any <a href="http://www.pilarvailepc.com/laborlaw.html">labor
or employment matters</a>
that you would like to resolve privately through a knowledgeable and experienced
arbitrator or mediator, please feel free to contact Pilar Vaile, P.C. at (505)
247-0802, or <a href="mailto:info@pilarvailepc.com">info@pilarvailepc.com</a>.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.pilarvailepc.com/attorney.html">Pilar Vaile</a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.pilarvailepc.com/index.html">Pilar
Vaile, P.C.</a> </span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.mapquest.com/?version=1.0&hk=6-AihX16Jm">Albuquerque, NM</a></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
Pilar Vaile, Esq.http://www.blogger.com/profile/14704156079003286540noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2662198681733565782.post-32094531445691292902012-09-21T12:51:00.000-07:002013-01-11T10:39:36.937-08:00NM Probationary Employees Protected by Human Rights Act<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;">In a case of first impression, the New Mexico Court of Appeals has held that State employees on probationary status may still assert a claim of sex or race <span style="line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://www.pilarvailepc.com/laborlaw.html">discrimination</a> </span>under the New Mexico Human Rights Act (HRA). <u>See</u> <u>Rodriguez v. NM Workforce Solutions</u>, 2012-NMCA-059.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">The employee, Maria Rodriguez, was initially hired as a temporary employee, which position was renewed with her knowledge and consent several times. Thereafter, she was hired as a regular employee and then she was terminated while still serving in the statutory 90-day probationary status. She exhausted all administrative remedies and filed notice of appeal and complaint in District Court alleging a violation of the HRA. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">The employer, NM Workforce Solutions, filed a motion for summary judgement, stating that the Court lacked jurisdiction to hear the claim because the employee did not have a property interest in continued employment, since the State was permitted under the State Personnel Regulations to fire Plaintiff without cause during her probationary period. <u>See</u> 1.7.11.11 NMAC ("[p]robationers ... may be suspended, demoted, or dismissed effective immediately with written notice and without right of appeal to the board"). </span></div>
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<![endif]--><span style="font-size: small;">cases involving claims under 42 USC §</span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"> 1983, in which summary judgement was granted because of a lack of property interest in continued employment. <u>See</u> <u>Lighton v. Univ. of Utah</u>, 209 F.3d 1213 (10th Cir. 2000) (</span><span style="font-size: small;">§</span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"> 1983 claims are only actionable where the employee possesses a property or liberty interest in the employment), and <u>Russillo v. Scarborough</u>, 935 F.2d 1167 (10th Cir. 1991) (affirming summary judgement for employer where plaintiff employee was "at will" an therefore had no protected property interest in his employment)</span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">The employer also cited several NM cases. <u>Lovato v. City of Albuquerque</u>, 106 NM 287 (1987), quoted <u>Rusillo</u> language that plaintiff's "employment status was a protected property interest only if he had an express or implied right to continued employment." </span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><u>Clark v. CYFD</u>, 1999-NMCA-114, and </span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><u>Cockrell v. Bd. of Regents of NM State Univ.</u>, 1999-NMCA-073, also dealing with a </span><span style="font-size: small;">§</span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"> 1983 claims, and concluded respectively that the probationary employee "did not have a property interest in continuing employment," and had "no expectancy of continued employment." </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">Finally, the employee urged that "the composite provisions in the Personnel Act that distinguish an employee from a probationary employee," <u>see</u> </span><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<![endif]--><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">§ 28-1-7(A), that is "excluded from the definition of discriminatory practice under the Human Rights Act." <u>Id</u>.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">The Court of Appeals rejected all of the employer's arguments, noting "[t]he case before us is not one solely under the Personnel Act," but also the HRA. Moreover, because it is "not addressing a claim under </span><span style="font-size: small;">§</span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"> 1983, ... </span><span style="font-size: small;">§</span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"> 1983 is not at issue," and [n]either constitutional violations nor liberty or property interests are at issue." The Court analogized the HRA to Title VII, rather than </span><span style="font-size: small;">§</span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"> 1983, and noted that both are "designed to encourage employees to report when they are others are being subjected to illegal workplace discrimination." </span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><u>See</u> <u>NM Dept. of Info.</u>,
815 F.Supp. 2d 1222 (DNM 2011) ("although a [probationary] employee may
be terminated without cause, she is still entitled to the protections
of Title II an the [Human Rights Act]"). </span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><u>See also</u> <u>Walters v. City of Atlanta</u>, 803 F.2d 1135 (11th Cir. 1986), and <u>Henderson v. City of New York</u>, 818 F.Supp. 2d 573 (EDNY July 20, 2011) (both </span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"> federal cases in which the probationary plaintiff raised both </span><span style="font-size: small;">§</span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"> 1983 and Title VII claims, and</span> the Title VII claims survived). </div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><u></u></span><br />
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Pilar Vaile, Esq.http://www.blogger.com/profile/14704156079003286540noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2662198681733565782.post-34482251985677551592012-09-13T21:11:00.000-07:002012-09-13T21:11:31.813-07:00Exhaustion of Remedies & Employment Handbooks<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;">This summer, in <i>Lucero v. Board of Regents of the Univ. of New Mexico</i>, NMHSC, 2012-NMCA-055 (cert. den.), the Court of Appeals concluded that an employee alleging </span><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<![endif]--><a href="http://www.pilarvailepc.com/laborlaw.html">breach of an
employee handbook</a><span class="text"></span><span style="font-size: small;"> must exhaust the grievance process outlined in that handbook. </span></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"></span></div>
<a name='more'></a><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">The trial court had essentially denied the employer's motion for summary judgment, reasoning that "Defendant[s'] grievance scheme is ambiguous, and by its own terms does not require Plaintiff to exhaust Defendant[s'] grievance procedure prior to filing suit in court." The trial court found it to be "of great significance" that "within ... Defendant[s'] grievance procedure both 'may' and 'shall' are used," and concluded that exhaustion was "not a condition precedent to Plaintiff filing suit in this court."</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">The Court of Appeals reversed the district court's denial of Defendants' motion for summary judgment. It is axiomatic that, "[u]nder the exhaustion of administrative remedies doctrine, where relief is available from an administrative agency, the plaintiff is ordinarily required to pursue that avenue of redress before proceeding to the courts; and until that recourse is exhausted, suit is premature and must be dismissed." <u>Id</u>., <u>citing</u> <u>Smith v. City of Santa Fe</u>, 2007-NMSC-055. Moreover, New Mexico court have applied exhaustion principles to employee handbook grievance procedures. <u>See</u> <u>Francis v. Mem'l Gen. Hosp.</u>, 104 NM 698 (1986), <u>McDowell v. Napolitano</u>, 119 NM 696 (1995). </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">In <u>Smith</u>, the Court reasond that "when an implied contract, in this case an employment manual, creates rights, the rights are "limited by the terms of the [employment manual] that gave them birth." In the In <u>McDowell</u>, the Court held that an employee must "substantially comply" with the terms of the employee contract--or handbook--by fallowing the outlined appeals process.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">From these cases, the Court in <u>Lucero</u> "glean[ed] the general rule that an employee must substantially comply with mandatory internal grievance procedures contained in an employee manual or handbook before fling suit for breach of contract claims based on an alleged failure of an employer to follow its employment policies." <u> Lucero</u><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">, </span></span><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<![endif]--><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">¶ 12.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">As to the argument related to permissive language, the Court "read the plain language of Section 61.1 of the employee handbook, using the term 'may,' to be permissive only to the extent that it provides a potential grievant with two options: (1) file a grievance, thereby exhausting the remedies under the employee handbook ... or (2) forego the grievance process and accept the disciplinary decision of the Defendant." </span></span></div>
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Pilar Vaile, Esq.http://www.blogger.com/profile/14704156079003286540noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2662198681733565782.post-80397488595764251252012-08-14T13:27:00.000-07:002012-08-14T13:27:45.781-07:00Dukes & the Propensity to Stereotype<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><i>Is the propensity to stereotype inadmissible character evidence</i>? That is what King and Amin answer in the affirmative in the Fall 2011 issue of the ABA Journal of Labor and Employment Law. See Vol. 27, No. 1.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Employment discrimination claims based on pattern and practice evidence are common and can be successful, but courts require more than just a bare allegation of patter and practice of misconduct. Increasingly, plaintiffs are turning to social science experts to meet this burden. Such experts rely on "social framework evidence" to show that "seemingly distinct and independent employment decisions emanate from a company-wide culture of discrimination." This was the argument made in last years <i>Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. v. Dukes</i>, 131 S. Ct. 2541, 2547-48 (2011). </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">King and Amin summarize the Dukes theory as follows:</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">"(1) dominant social grounds have an automatic tendency to invoke negative stereotypes in judging minorities, which operate at an unconscious level, (2) because management of most corporations is populated by members of the dominant social group, stereotyped decisionmaking pervades these corporations; (3) these unconscious stereotypes will infuse the culture of a company and lead to stereotyped decisions, unless particular safeguards are in place to prevent this otherwise inevitable occurrence; and (4) whether the corporate culture is permeated by stereotypical decisionmaking therefore can be assessed by gauging the strength and effectiveness of a company's policies and practices aimed at curbing stereotypical decisionmaking."</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Obviously there are a lot of generalities and untestable assumptions built into that windy standard. Accordingly, it was soundly disparaged by the Supreme Court in the Dukes case as being "too general to be probative." The social framework fails to persuade, in particular, because it cannot "predict or measure the extent to which stereotyping is responsible for any of the decisions within any particular workplace.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">After the Court's rejection of social framework evidence, the authors posit that the plaintiff bar may turn instead to to "implicit bias research" to show discrimination, in the future. Implicit bias theory states that "individuals are animated by prejudices of which they themselves are unaware," and these subconscious prejudices can be measured through physiological and behavioral measures that better rely on unconscious responses than the traditional questionnaire. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Physiological and behavioral measurements can be extraordinarily revealing. However, they have been found to constitute impermissible character evidence. This raises the question of whether evidence of actual bias could be introduced. However, only one court has ordered a defendant to submit to such testing. <i>Palgut v. City of Colorado Sprigs</i>, (D. Colo. July 3, 2008). Besides the invasion of privacy issues, the tests may well be measuring a state of mind in existence months or years after the events in controversy. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">An additional question raised is whether the use of such evidence would be permissible to demonstrate a corporation's character. However, the authors note such use would likely be impermissible under Rule 404. Although corporations are "persons" for some purposes but not others, some commentators argue that Rule 404 is irrelevant to them because they do not have "character." In this particular instance, however, it would be evidence of the propensity of individuals making up the corporation. "Indeed, it is the failure of the corporation to develop an independent culture, free of the natural biases that characterize its employees, the permits these experts to label the corporate culture as discriminatory." <u>Id.</u> Accordingly, Rule 404 should operate to exclude evidence of individual employee's propensity.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">It is an amazing age we are living in, when social sciences can teach us much about ourselves and our institutions. However, it is still a relief to me that much of the fruit of these soft and subjective sciences is excluded from evidence as prejudicial and unreliable. Otherwise, we could find ourselves living out The Minority Report....</span></div>
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Pilar Vaile, Esq.http://www.blogger.com/profile/14704156079003286540noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2662198681733565782.post-82138548919533880552012-07-10T22:00:00.001-07:002012-07-10T22:00:51.366-07:00FLSA--What is Compensable Work??<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;">As labor/employment practitioners know, the Fair Labor Standards Act, governing the payment of minimum wages and overtime, is silent as to the definition of "work." In the Spring 2011 issue of the ABA Journal of Labor and Employment Law, Richard Alfred and Jessica Schauer argue that recent case law and a Department of Labor (DOL) Administrator's Interpretation has potentially opened the floodgate for claims regarding de minimus but arguably "integral and indispensible" activities, such as checking or sending emails, prior to the start of the workday. <u>See</u> Alfred and Schauer, </span></div>
<a name='more'></a><span style="font-size: small;"><i>Continuous Confusion: the Workday in the Modern Economy.</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Introduction </b><i><br /></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Typically, disputes over the workday have concerned the time spent "donning and doffing" protective gear, and case law has not clarified matters substantially but only obfuscated. Then, in June of 2010, the DOL joined the debate but issuing an Administrator's Interpretation to narrowly define "clothes" for the purpose of a FLSA provision allowing employers to exclude from compensation, pursuant to collective bargaining agreement, that spent "changing clothes or washing at the beginning or end of each workday." The Interpretation defines clothes to exclude protective gear of any
sort. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Historical Legal Background </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Historically, work for purposes of the law was defined by its common meaning as involving physical or mental exertion (whether burdensome or not) controlled or required by the employer and pursued necessarily and primarily for the benefit of the employer and his business." <u>Tennessee Coal, Iron & Railroad Co. v. Muscoda Local No. 123</u>, 321 US590 (1944) (concluding "work" included time miners spent in underground tunnels traveling to active mine areas). </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Later the same year, the Court revisited the issue in a very different context--whether employees should be compensated for time spent on-call at the employers facilities to respond to fire alarms. There, the Court concluded that whether such time was compensable turned on whether the employers were "engaged to wait, or ... waited to be engaged." <u>Armour Co. v. Wantock</u>, 323 US 126 (1944), and <u>Skidmore v. Swift & Co.</u>, 323 US 134 (1944). </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Several years later, the Court revisited the matter again and expanded the definition of work to conclude time spent by factory workers traveling from the entrance to their work station was compensable. <u>Anderson v. Mt. Clemens Pottery Co.</u>, 328 US 680 (1946). <u>Clemens</u> did, however, note an exception: the de minimus doctrine, "which permits employers to disregard certain small increments of otherwise compensable time." <u>See</u> Alfred and Schauer (citing <u>Clemens</u> and other cases, and noting a de minimus amount of time is usually five minutes, but has been found to be as high as twenty minutes<u>)</u>. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">The following year, <u>Clemen's</u> holding regarding travel time was overturned by the Portal-to-Portal Act, which limited minimum wage liability for traveling to or from the "actual place of performance of the principal activity or activities," or for activities that are only "preliminary to or postliminary to said principal activity or activities." A few years after than, the FLSA was also amended to permit employers and unions to bargain over time spending changing clothes or washing at the beginning or end of each workday.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">In 1957, the Court reviewed the Portal-to-Portal Act and concluded that activities that are "integral and indispensible" to a principal activity are also principal activities, and therefore not excluded fro compensation by the Portal-to-Portal Act. <u>Steiner v. Mitchell</u>, 350 US 247 (1957) (concerning time spent changing work clothes and showering to limit exposure to toxic chemicals). There the lay of the law remained for about 50 years until it issued <u>IBP, Inc. v. Alvarez</u> in 2005, 546 US 21. <u>Alvarez</u> held that "performance of integral and indispensable activities render subsequent activities, even those that are not themselves integral and indispensable, a compensable part of the continuous work day." <u>See</u> Alfred and Schauer, citing <u>Alvarez</u>. <u>Alavarez</u> had concluded that time spent walking to work station after donning protective gear was covered, although time spent waiting to don it was not.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><b>DOL Interpretation and Future Applications</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Despite the narrow application of the DOL Interpretation, the authors foresee two problems with it. First, they do not believe the definition will
fly with the courts generally because it rejects the dictionary
definition and is at odds with the weight of circuit court decisions.
This is significant because normally, administrative rules and
interpretations are entitled to some deference, "but only to the extent
that the courts find their reasoning to be persuasive." <u>Id</u>.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Second, and more seriously, the authors worry the last sentence of the Interpretation somehow adds a "wrinkle" that will undermine the de minimus exception by "insist[ing] that activities excludable from compensation may nonetheless start the continuous workday." The Interpretion states that some otherwise excludable activities may be a "principal activity" that triggers the start of the day," making all "subsequent activities, including walking and waiting ... compensable." The authors seem to have momentarily forgotten their own fine legal history review, however, and the fact that it was actually <u>Alvarez</u> that made that pronouncement first. Nonetheless, it is worth addressing the concern on its merits. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">The authors worry, specifically, that this new line of reasoning will swallow the de minimus exception. For instance, they note that booting up a computer would require negligible exertion under <u>Tennessee Coal</u>, but is nonetheless indispensible. The authors also make the pitch that de minimus work such as checking emails or voice mails from home may, under the new law, make compensable the following commute to work. In support, the authors point to <u></u> <u>Dooley v. Liberty Mutual Insurance Co.</u>, 307 F.Supp. 2d 234 (D. Mass. 2004), which held insurance appraisers' commute to the first on site inspection was made compensable where employer required appraisers to check their email and voice mail, prepare their computers for use, and return phone calls, prior to leaving home for their first appointment. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">However, I think the authors are letting their fear and imagination run away with them a bit. Obviously, the <u>Dooley</u> work was quite substantial, and it was also formally required as part of the employees' job duties. Except for the most activist and liberal court, it is not likely to be used to support doing away with the well established de minimus exception. Finally, I am sure most courts will recognize that it is a far cry from de minimus to "not itself integral and indispensible," and it should be an easy thing for courts to adjust their thinking to add a qualitative component to de minimus.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>Pilar Vaile, Esq.http://www.blogger.com/profile/14704156079003286540noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2662198681733565782.post-18972597801812898792012-06-29T22:10:00.002-07:002012-06-29T22:10:49.289-07:00Bargaining with Minority Unions<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;">In the Fall 2011 issue of the ABA Journal of Labor & Employment Law, Vol. 27 No. 1, authors Catherine Fisk and Xenia Tashlitsky urge us to "Imagine a World Where Employers are Required to Bargain with Minority Unions." The authors observe that while case law says it cant be done, that is not an inevitable conclusion based on statutory language. They also see many potential benefits in such a requirement.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">First, they analyze the statutory language and conclude that "the language of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) "does not expressly preclude a duty to bargain with a minority union until a majority has selected the same union." Next they review the legislative history. When the Act was first enacted, employers often engaged in minority or "members only" recognition, and the Legislature rejected language that would have expressly prohibited the recognition of minority unions. Based on this, the authors say the Act could even be interpreted to <i>require </i>the recognition of minority unions, although they do not propose that "maximalist" view. Finally, the authors point to the International Labor Organization's (ILO) Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work and International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which arguably compel recognition of minority unions.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">After making a case for how and why minority recognition should be supported, the authors outline the benefits of such a scheme. Benefits include the following: </span></div>
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<li><span style="font-size: small;">Unions would gain access to the workplace as soon as employees desired it, rather than after a lengthy campaign if at all.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">There would be less incentive for employers to hire consultants to keep unions out.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">Unions losing certification would not simply disappear.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">Far less time and money would be spent litigating union access.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">Employees desiring it could have union representation without such representation forced upon unwilling employees. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">It could provide a "preview" of collective bargaining processes, "neutraliz[ing] employer rhetoric with demonstrations of added bargaining value."</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">It would improve union-member relations because unions would have to get members rather than just authorization cards, and it would promote competition between unions.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">Could enhance employee free choice. </span></li>
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<ul style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: justify;"></ul>Pilar Vaile, Esq.http://www.blogger.com/profile/14704156079003286540noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2662198681733565782.post-13250226687175706012012-06-19T08:22:00.000-07:002012-06-19T08:22:02.198-07:00Workplace Concerns Arise Even in Rarified Quarters<br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">In
2009, Model Sara Ziff issued a documentary, <u>Picture Me</u>, which was five years in the making. In it, Ziff covertly captured the seedy side of the fashion modeling industry, where young girls are </span><span style="font-size: small;">often required to work incredibly long hours, denied or mislead about compensation, and are </span><span style="font-size: small;">routinely subject to <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://www.pilarvailepc.com/laborlaw.html">sexual harassment</a></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"> and even assault. In
2012, Ziff has launched the Model Alliance, in conjunction with the Fordham
University’s Fashion Law Institute. The
Alliance is “an advocacy group aimed at improving</span><br />
<a name='more'></a><span style="font-size: small;"> the working conditions of
fashion models.” The Alliance does not
intend to form a union for models—this was apparently tried before, without
success. However, the Alliance will work
to educate modeling professionals about labor/employment laws. It also intends to draft a Model’s Bill of
Rights, and set up a “confidential grievance center.” <u>See</u> Eriq Gardner, <i>It’s Not Easy Being Beautiful</i>, May 2012 ABA Journal. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">It is
not clear what the grievance center will look like. Perhaps in time the Alliance could seek to negotiate
with flag ship fashion companies for modeling contracts to incorporate a role for
the grievance center. Such a role could
include conducting investigations and/or the making of recommendations to
address patterns of abuse or systemic violations of the law. However, confidentiality could likely not be
maintained if it were to become anything more than a “crisis hot-line” through
which models could unburden themselves or speak with a peer when confronted
with a work place problem. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">If you have any <a href="http://www.pilarvailepc.com/laborlaw.html">labor or employment matters</a>
that you would like to resolve privately through a knowledgeable and experienced
arbitrator or mediator, please feel free to contact Pilar Vaile, P.C. at (505)
247-0802, or <a href="mailto:info@pilarvailepc.com">info@pilarvailepc.com</a>.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.mapquest.com/?version=1.0&hk=6-AihX16Jm">Albuquerque, NM</a></span></div>
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<br /></div>Pilar Vaile, Esq.http://www.blogger.com/profile/14704156079003286540noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2662198681733565782.post-69042736479307927312012-05-31T10:31:00.000-07:002012-05-31T10:36:32.373-07:00Survey of NLRB Shifts Analyzed and Found Wanting<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;">In 2010, I wrote about a survey of changes to NLRB precedent, written by G. Roger King and publishes in the Fall 2010 issue of the ABA Journal of Labor and Employment law. Mr. King's analysis revealed that over a comparable course of years (5-7), <span style="line-height: 115%;">the Clinton Board reversed 1,181 years of prior precedent while the Bush II Board
issued reversed only 295 years
of precedent. Additionally, King noted that</span><span style="line-height: 115%;"> "the federal circuit court affirmance rate of the Bush II Board
decisions was either equal to or greater than the circuit court
affirmance rate of the Clinton Board." Specifically, Clinton decisions
were enforced in full 66.8% of the time, and in part 81.5% of the time.
In contrast, Bush II decisions were enforced in full 77.9% of the time
and in part 87.9% of the time. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">In the Vol. 26, No. 3 of the Journal, Associate General Counsel of the AFL-CIO, Bill Lurye, reviews King's data and the decisions, and concludes they were "prove[d] susceptible to interpretation and vulnerable to manipulation." Lurye also advises that </span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">"a mathematical</span></span><br />
<a name='more'></a><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">comparison should not be confused with an analytical evaluation of the coherence, legitimacy, or integrity of NLRB decision making."</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">Specifically, Lurye notes the following flaws or omissions in King's survey:</span></span></div>
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<li><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">the Clinton Board was in place longer, but also was much more productive than the Bush II Board;</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">in 40% of the cases in which the Clinton Board reversed precedent, that decision was supported by both Democrat and Republican Board members, "with no Republican member dissenting;"</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">in many other cases, reversals were supported by a majority that included a Republican; and</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">in some cases, the Board's Republicans in favor of reversal were even in the majority. </span></span></li>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">Luyre notes--somewhat oddly and without elaboration--that if the analysis excludes cases in which Clinton Board Republicans</span> or Bush II Democrats voted fore reversals, then "using Mr. King's formulas, the precedent-reversal rate is 0.51% for the Clinton Board and 0.73% for the Bush II Board." </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Concluding that "[t]he mathematical comparison provides little insight or understanding," Mr. Lurye goes on to argue that the Bush II Board made "sweeping changes to Board policy and case law" such as "eliminat[ing] whole segments of the workforce from its definition of 'employee;" restricting "already notoriously weak remedies;" and "significantly narrow[ing] worker protections while expanding the scope of anti-union conduct lawfully available to companies." Moreover, Lurye argues, it did so without overruling precedent, but rather through amending rules, misapplying existing precedent, and issuing decisions that were inconsistent with prior cases and even their own rulings. In contrast, Lurye argues that some of the Clinton Board reversals concerned either old and unused precedent, or cases that were contradicted by the weight of other precedent. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Without having analyzed the data personally, I would hazard the guess that every Board has from time to time misapplied or gutted law, for both good and bad reasons, and that in each case there were likely at least two polarized views on the merits and legitimacy of the ruling. I would also suggest that labels such as "Democrat" and "Republican," which are themselves out of date in many ways, may not tell the full story. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">In any event, I highly recommend both articles to folks interested in this area of law. They are both well written and thought provoking.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">If you have any </span><a href="http://www.pilarvailepc.com/laborlaw.html"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">labor
or employment matters</span></a><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">
that you would like to resolve privately through a knowledgeable and experienced
arbitrator or mediator, please feel free to contact Pilar Vaile, P.C. at (505)
247-0802, or </span><a href="mailto:info@pilarvailepc.com"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">info@pilarvailepc.com</span></a>.</div>
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<a href="http://www.pilarvailepc.com/attorney.html"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Pilar Vaile</span></a><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"></span></div>
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<a href="http://www.pilarvailepc.com/index.html"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Pilar
Vaile, P.C.</span></a> <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"></span></div>
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<a href="http://www.mapquest.com/?version=1.0&hk=6-AihX16Jm"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Albuquerque, NM</span></a><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"></span></div>
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<br /></div>Pilar Vaile, Esq.http://www.blogger.com/profile/14704156079003286540noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2662198681733565782.post-68425396870230528822012-05-17T16:15:00.000-07:002012-05-31T10:37:20.540-07:00Mediating Workplace Bullying Claims<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">As
I have previously written, bullying is a hot topic today. <a href="http://albuquerqueadr2.blogspot.com/2011/03/cleaning-house-and-cleaning-up-our-acts.html"><span style="color: blue;">Cleaning House and Cleaning Up Our Acts - Anti-Bullying
Legislation</span></a>, and</span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><a href="http://albuquerqueadr2.blogspot.com/2011/06/bullying-legislation-revisited.html"><span style="color: blue;">Bullying Legislation, Revisited</span></a>. As such,
it is natural for </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><a href="http://www.pilarvailepc.com/"><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">alternative dispute resolution (ADR) practitioners</span></a></span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;"> to move into this field. However, caution should be
used in doing so, and practitioners should consider in each case whether
mediation is appropriate and, if so, what it should look like.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">In
the Fall 2011 issue of the ACR Conflict Resolution Quarterly, Vol. 29 No. 1,
Moira Jenkins asks <i>Is Mediation Suitable
for Complaints of Workplace Bullying?</i> Although she herself does not appear
to come to any firm conclusions, the article raises a number of helpful points
to be considered by managers and individual ADR practitioners consider the
issue. First, as Ms. Jenkins observes,
bullying is often not well defined, and in the workplace bullying may be
confused with a number of other activities that are similar but nonetheless
distinct. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">One
good working definition is that which has evolved in the UK: “repeated exposure to negative behaviors that
are specifically directed at a target or group of targets,” with the negative
behavior occurring on a regular basis (at least weekly), and over an extended
period of time (such as six months). <u>Id.</u>,
citing Einarsen, Hoel, Zapf and Cooper (2003). Jenkins also proposes a definition that is based
on large part on the South Australian Occupational Health and Safety
legislation (Section 55): “any repeated behavior s that target an employee or
group of employees, that a reasonable person, taking into account all of the
circumstances, would expect to undermine, victimize or threaten the
employee(s), and that potentially pose a risk to the target’s health and
safety. I am troubled by the “undermine”
portion, because I can imagine a particularly sensitive person claiming
emotional distress for being undermined or not supported by a co-worker or
supervisor, but otherwise it is also a workable definition.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">In
addition to the basic framing, workplace bullying is also marked by a number of
attributes. It may be either immediately
predatory or characterized by a pattern of steady escalation. It often involves retaliation if the
complainant attempts to take protective action.
Finally, it typically involves some sort of power imbalance.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">However, as I've written in my previous articles, the
ADR practitioner must be aware that a number of practices called
“bullying” by a complainant do not fall into that category. These may include actions as ordinary as
incivility or counterproductive behaviors.
They may also include much more dangerous or damaging conduct that can
subject the employer to independent liability, such as harassment, workplace
violence, or abusive supervisors.
Therefore, careful screening is warranted to clearly identify and triage
a “workplace bullying” claim before mediation begins. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">In
this screening process, the ADR practitioner will consider whether the
particular complaint is amenable to mediation.
For instance, Jenkins argues that workplace bullying claims are best
addressed early on, when “both parties are often interested in resolving the
conflict reasonably,” and in good faith.
After the conflict escalates and one or more parties become more
aggressive” mediation naturally becomes more difficult and risky. Thus, mediation will not generally be
appropriate where it is “predatory in nature, or has reached a destructive
phase where the intent of either party is to destroy or at least control the
other through violence.” However,
Jenkins sees increased potential for effective mediation after an investigation
and/or discipline has taken place. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">In
mediating workplace bulling claim, Jenkins also cautions practitioners to be
mindful of the broader circumstances surrounding the individual relationship at
issue. For instance, attention should be
paid to such organizational factors as how work is organized, leadership
styles, “role conflict and ambiguity,” job insecurity, and work stressors. Attention should also be paid to the “social
environment” of the workplace, such as if there are in and out groups,
tendencies towards gossip or group hostility, or group pressures to
complainant(s) and respondent and their “interpersonal dynamic,” in a workplace
bullying claim.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Finally,
“one of the primary roles of the mediator” in a workplace bullying claim will
be “to manage the power relationship between the parties.” <u>Id.</u>, citing Wall (1981). Here, I posit that lessons may be taken from
family mediation involving claims of domestic violence, and the mediator will
expend considerable time and attention assessing safety concerns, and creating
a safe environment. Jenkins suggests
educating the parties of their rights, and any ability to lodge a formal
complaint with an outside government agency.
She also endorses restorative measures, and the use of conflict or
communication coaching to prepare the parties for mediation, and in follow
up. Finally, Jenkins advises the
mediator to work closely with Human Resources and any counseling personnel.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">All
said, mediating workplace bullying claims will be especially challenging
because marked by some unique features that require special consideration. However, mediation is not inherently
impossible, and should be explored with a trained and experienced ADR
professional.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"> </span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">If you have any </span><a href="http://www.pilarvailepc.com/laborlaw.html"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">labor or employment matters</span></a><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"> that you would like
to resolve privately through a knowledgeable and experienced arbitrator or
mediator, please feel free to contact Pilar Vaile, P.C. at (505) 247-0802, or </span><a href="mailto:info@pilarvailepc.com"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">info@pilarvailepc.com</span></a><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.pilarvailepc.com/attorney.html"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Pilar Vaile</span></a><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.pilarvailepc.com/index.html"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Pilar Vaile, P.C.</span></a><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.mapquest.com/?version=1.0&hk=6-AihX16Jm"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Albuquerque, NM</span></a><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"></span></span></div>Pilar Vaile, Esq.http://www.blogger.com/profile/14704156079003286540noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2662198681733565782.post-2042520653575621282012-05-06T14:03:00.000-07:002012-09-13T18:27:36.842-07:00Recent Employment Law Decisions--Fees Shifting, Exhaustion and Preclusion<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;">My <span style="line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://www.pilarvailepc.com/">arbitration, mediation and ALJ practice</a></span> is booming these days, as is my <a href="http://albuquerqueadr3.blogspot.com/">guardian ad litem (GAL)</a> practice. As a result, I am woefully behind on my blogs, with a pile of items to review and write up. I'm not sure how the really prolific--or even moderately prolific--bloggers do it, once their practice picks up. In any event, here is a belated summary of recent New Mexico employment law cases.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><u>River v. Flint Energy and Liberty Mutual Insurance Company</u>, 2011-NMCA-119, cert den. or not applied for.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Worker's attorney fees apportioned equally between worker and employer/insurer, rather than assessed entirely to the employer, where worker recovered more at trial than he'd previously offered to take in settlement, but worker's settlement offer did not comply with the Workers Comp Act. Specifically, the offer did not reference the section of the Act providing for shifting of fees when a verdict is greater than a prior settlement offer, or reference any language therein. <u>See</u> Section 52-1-54(F). Under these circumstances, the offer did not adequately put the employer on notice that the letter was intended to trigger the fee-shifting provisions of Section 21-1-54(F).</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><u>Lobato v. State of New Mexico Environment Dept.</u>, 2012-NMSC-002.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">NM Human Rights Division's official Charge of Discrimination form is misleading and fails to provide an adequate opportunity for filers to exhaust administrative remedies, where the form instructs filer to give the name and address of the agency believed to have discriminated against the filer, but not of individual actors. The form does not comply with the Human Rights Act, which requires "the name and address of the person alleged to have engaged in the discriminatory practice." <u>See</u> Section 28-1-10(A). Requesting "particulars" generally, or a subsequent detailed intake questionnaire, do not overcome this defect. As a remedy, exhaustion of administrative remedies is not required and the plaintiff filer's right to a judicial remedy is preserved.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><u>Mascarenas v. City of Albuquerque</u>, 2012-NMCA-031, cert. not applied for. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">City employee terminated for unauthorized leave, where she failed to submit doctor notes necessary to reauthorize her FMLA leave. Hearing Examiner found she was terminated for just cause, and Personnel Board affirmed that decision 3-1. She appealed the due process hearing to District Court as part of a claim for breach of contract, and violation of the FMLA, and all claims were dismissed. She then filed a single appeal to the Court of a Appeals. The Court of appeals concluded the due process administrative appeal was not timely filed by writ of certiori; it further agreed with the District Court that the breach of contract claim was barred by res judicata, and the FMLA claim was barred by collateral estoppel. </span><br />
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Pilar Vaile, Esq.http://www.blogger.com/profile/14704156079003286540noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2662198681733565782.post-19834003706425144852012-05-05T08:06:00.001-07:002012-05-05T08:07:46.374-07:00Dangers of EEOC Class Member Communication<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: justify;">
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<span style="font-size: small;"> In the Fall 2011 ABA Journal of Labor and Employment Law, Vol. 27, No. 1, Fall 2011, Christopher Lage writes abut <i>Avoiding and Dealing with Unethical Communications with Putative Class Members in Systemic Cases. </i></span><span style="font-size: small;">The article is timely because </span><span style="font-size: small;">there has been a dramatic Increase <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://www.pilarvailepc.com/laborlaw.html">Equal Employment Opportunity
Commission (EEOC) systemic cases</a></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"> since the EEOC launched its 2006 initiative concerning these types of
claims. Although the flow may slow a bit after</span><span style="font-size: small;"> the <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/10pdf/10-277.pdf">Wal-Mart v. Dukes
case</a></span></span><span style="font-size: small;">, at least for very </span><br />
<a name='more'></a><span style="font-size: small;">massive classes covering work sites across the nation, the general trend in increase is likely to continue</span><span style="font-size: small;">. Systematic discrimination lawsuits account for about 14% of the EEOC's case load and since <u>Dukes</u> it has settled a suit against a telecommunications company for $20 million. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">In light of this flow of class actions, lawyers representing class members and employers need to be well advised about permissible communications, which are regulated by our professional ethics. First, lawyers may not speak with represented persons without consent of that person's attorney. </span><span style="font-size: small;"><u>See</u> Model Rule of Professional Conduct 4.2. The comment to rule 4.2 further clarifies communications with members of represented organizations, stating </span><span style="font-size: small;">lawyers cannot speak with a member of an organization who "supervises, directs or regularly consults with the organizations lawyer concerning the matter or has authority to obligate the organization with respect to the matter or whose act or omission in connection with the matter may be imputed to the organization for purposes of civil or criminal liability." Second, lawyers are limited in their communications with unrepresented parties</span><span style="font-size: small;">, in that they cannot mislead or misrepresent regarding their role , or give legal advise. <u>See</u> Model Rule of Professional Conduct 4.3. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">In the context of private systemic actions brought pursuant to Rule 23 of the Civil Rules of Civil procedure, the ABA and commentators generally agree that Model Rule 4.2 is not applicable to non-named putative members, who have no attorney-client relationship yet. Therefore, either side may generally communicate with putative class members. In contrast, defense counsel cannot speak with named representatives, with whom there is an attorney-client relationship.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">As Lage notes, the Rule 4.2 is similarly applied to contacts with putative class members in EEOC systemic litigation. In these cases, it is recognized that the EEOC is pursuing it's own statutory right of action, in its own name, rather than as a representative, even where individual employees are named. "The EEOC takes the position that it does not have any attorney-client relationship with putative class members, since its interests in protecting the public may verge from the interests of the individuals for whom it seeks relief.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">In light of the numbers of folks involved, and the ethical rules at play, parties regularly seek and courts regularly impose limitations on the ability of the parties to communicate with putative class members, as a prudential matter. There are a number of policy reasons for this. The Agency may overreach in communications with the putative members; the employer may intentionally or otherwise intimidate or coerce class members; putative members may be confused by the role of the attorney as to that member's interests; or, in cases concerning supervisors, there may be issues of agency liability. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">In general, courts require an employer seeking to communicate with putative members to inform the members of the pending litigation, their possible right to participate, and their protection from retaliation. Courts also order defendant's to discontinue communications if the employee does not desire the communication or if they indicate they are represented by the EEOC. <u>Id.</u>, and citations therein.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Similarly, the EEOC "must take care that a communication with a putative class member does not create confusion or generate allegations of government overreaching," such as when the EEOC advised employees they were not required to discuss the matter with the employers HR Department, but the internal grievance policy invited the employee to raise matters with HR. Thus, although it is rarer, the courts have been known to also impose restrictions on the EEOC's communications with putative class members.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">There are special issues arising in class actions included managerial employees. For instance, there may be agency issues, or issues related to the potential disclosure of work product or other proprietary matters. The latter issues may even arise with former employers, communication with whom are not normally restricted, otherwise. In the case of higher levels of employees, it may be appropriate for counsel to send a joint letter to putative members. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">In all cases, Lage urges both counsel for all sides to consider whether to seek court permission for, or court restrictions on communications, as relevant. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">If you have any <a href="http://www.pilarvailepc.com/laborlaw.html">labor or employment matters</a> that you would like to resolve privately through a knowledgeable and experienced arbitrator or mediator, please feel free to contact Pilar Vaile, P.C. at (505) 247-0802, or <a href="mailto:info@pilarvailepc.com">info@pilarvailepc.com</a>.</span></div>
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<br /></div>Pilar Vaile, Esq.http://www.blogger.com/profile/14704156079003286540noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2662198681733565782.post-22818639692926025062012-04-14T06:56:00.000-07:002012-04-14T06:59:15.175-07:00Major Business Investments & Management Rights<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Last
year the blogosphere saw much chatter and commentary concerning the proposed
opening of a Boeing plant in South Carolina, and the subsequent filing of a
National Labor Relations Board (NLRB or Board) charge, congressional hearings,
etc. The Fall 2011 issue of the ABA
Journal of Labor and Employment, Vol. 27 No. 1, thoughtfully included testimony
of two congressional hearing witnesses. Although the immediate
storm has passed, the parties having settled the charge with the signing of a
new <a href="http://www.pilarvailepc.com/laborlaw.html">collective bargaining
agreement</a>, it is an issue that could recur with similar responses, so I’d
like to discuss that testimony here. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Labor
professor Julius Getman of the University of Texas at Austin defended the Board
General Counsel’s actions in filing the complaint as “nothing new or
controversial.” He argued it was warranted because the complaint alleged that
Boeing had “transferred work, which would otherwise have been done at its
Washington state facility, to South Carolina in reprisal for past strikes with
the avowed purpose of heading off future strikes.” <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The
Boeing Case: Creating Outrage Out of
Very Little</i>. However, Getman disregards the facts that this
was to be a whole new facility, to build an additional number of planes that
were not currently being built at the Washington state facility, and that
therefore no work was transferred from the Washington facility, which is the
actual test for illegality. <u>See</u> <u>Textile
Workers Union of America v. Darlington Manufacturing Co.</u>, 380 US 263, 275
(1965) (while a company may legally go out of business to thwart union
activity, a partial closing for the same purpose is an unfair labor practice),
and <u>Int’l Ladies Garment Workers’ Union v NLRB</u>, 374 F.2d 295 (DC Cir.
1967) (an employer may not transfer the business situs to deprive the employees
of their protected rights). </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Demonstrating
the ignorance of a 30-year academic with no business or industrial experience,
Getman commends “the limited nature of the proposed remedy.” He also wonders rather naively “why the
issuance of a complaint, a preliminary step far less final than a Board
decision,” which if incorrect could be corrected by the courts, “should be
responded to so intensely.” </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">In
contrast, Philip Miscimarra—a business professor but also a practicing attorney
engaged in representing business—emphasizes the lack of any transfer of work,
and also the incredible investment costs and uncertainties associated with
massive capital investment, particularly when it is subject to a Board
complaint. Miscimarra, relying on the
Board’s complaint, Boeing’s answer, and the parties’ public releases,
acknowledges the new plant is to be built in consideration of past
strikes. Specifically, production of
seven 787 Dreamer a month had periodically been obstructed at the Washington
state facility due to strike activity.
The Charleston plant would thus produce three new 787 Dreamers per
month, in addition to the seven produced in Washington, “to protect the
stability of the 787’s global production system” and “to mitigate the harmful
economic effects of an anticipated future strike.” <u>Id.</u>, citing Boeing’s Answer. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">However,
this is not illegal and is warranted under prudent business management. The National
Labor Relations Act (NLRA) focuses on employment terms and conditions, not
business judgments involving “the core of entrepreneurial control.” <u>Id.</u>, citing <u>Fibreboard Paper Prods.
Corp. v. NLRB</u>, 379 US 203, 223 (1964).
As noted, a firm may even shut down its business to thwart union
activity, provided it is not a partial closure.
Even more analogous to the instant case, in <u>Dorsey Trailers, Inc. v.
NLRB</u>, 327 NLRB 835 (1999), the Board held that an employer can close a shop
and transfer or relocate that preexisting work to a new firm, prompted by past
strike activity and the need to fill backlogged orders. Notably, courts and the Board have repeatedly
affirmed an employer’s right to consider higher hosts and improved bargaining
leverage in future rounds of bargaining.
Similarly employers may make business decisions—including to relocate or
transfer work—based on the higher costs of union representation, and the right
to strike “does not give employees immunity from a strike’s economic
consequences.” Miscimara.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Finally,
it when looking at the big picture, it cannot be said the larger business and
Congressional reaction to the Boeing complaint was surprising. The reaction against the Boeing complaint was
motivated in part by the basic legality of Being’s actions. This raises issues of Board agent’s bias and
fidelity to law. However, the largest
part of the outcry was likely due to business principles, and the incredible
economic risks the precedent could pose for business in the future. As Miscamarra notes, building a new Boeing
plant involves a huge capital investment of more than $750 million, while the
NLRA complaint process is marked by delays, costs and uncertainties. Once the complaint was filed, Boeing’s South
Carolina investment was placed “on a very long NLRB litigation treadmill.” Additionally, the asset is frozen for the
duration; it will be difficult if not impossible to make further investment
decisions; and litigation will additional financial resources itself. Not surprisingly, then, the Boeing complaint
raised the specter of similar dire consequences for other business hoping to
expand and develop their business. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">If you have any <a href="http://www.pilarvailepc.com/laborlaw.html">labor or employment matters</a>
that you would like to resolve privately through a knowledgeable and experienced
arbitrator or mediator, please feel free to contact Pilar Vaile, P.C. at (505)
247-0802, or <a href="mailto:info@pilarvailepc.com">info@pilarvailepc.com</a>.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;"><a href="http://www.pilarvailepc.com/index.html">Pilar Vaile, P.C.</a> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;"><a href="http://www.mapquest.com/?version=1.0&hk=6-AihX16Jm">Albuquerque, NM</a></span></div>Pilar Vaile, Esq.http://www.blogger.com/profile/14704156079003286540noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2662198681733565782.post-75894386812385015542012-04-04T12:21:00.003-07:002012-04-04T12:21:46.274-07:00Employer Polling -- Criteria and Standards<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: normal; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;">As a <a href="http://www.pilarvailepc.com/">neutral third party familiar with collective bargaining matters and representation election procedures</a>, I am periodically contracted to conduct employer pollings, to ascertain whether or not a majority of its employees continue to desire union representation. The first time I was asked to conduct a polling, I was obligated as a neutral to satisfy myself that polling is not illegal or otherwise improper in New Mexico as a general matter. As is common, there was no New Mexico case law on point. However, the federal courts and the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) have reviewed the matter in a number of cases, and I will outline the results of my research here. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Basic overview of law</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">As a starting point, it must be recognized that the Board and courts have long recognized a presumption of continuing majority support. <u>See</u> <u>Auciello v. Iron Works v. NLRB</u>, 517 US 718 (1996), and <u>Levitz Furniture Corp.</u>, 333 NLRB 717, 720 n. 17 (2001). The purpose of the presumption is to promote stability in labor relations. The presumption is irrebuttable during the term of a collective bargaining agreement (CBA), and rebuttable after the CBA expires.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">If the union does not enjoy continuing majority support, the employer may be able to seek de-certification, or simply withdraw recognition under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). Sometimes, however, these stark actions could be perceived as alienating or antagonistic</span><span style="font-size: small;">, as noted by the US Supreme Court in <u>Allentown Mack Sales and Services v. NLRB</u>, 522 US 359, 365 (1998)</span><span style="font-size: small;">. In that case, the Court suggested, an employer may prefer to first poll its employees for a more graceful or politic entre to severing the relationship.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">It is well established that polling is also permissible. However, the NLRB believes employer polling is also "potentially 'disruptive' to established bargaining relationships and 'unsettling' to employees, and so has chosen to limit severely the circumstances under which it may be conducted." <u>See</u> <u>Allentown</u>, 522 US at 364, citing <u>Texas Petrochemicals Corp.</u>, 296 NLRB 1057 (1989). </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">The wrinkle or dispute today is the exact nature of that limitation. Today, to unilaterally withdraw recognition, the employer must demonstrate actual loss of majority support. <u>See</u> <u>Levitz</u>. However, this represented a big shift in law, which previously required only an objectively based, good faith reasonable doubt as to majority support. <u>See</u> <u>Celanese Corp.</u>, 95 NLRB 664 (1951). </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Prior to <u>Levitz</u>, moreover, unilateral withdrawn of recognition and polling shared a “unitary standard,” and both were allowed where the employer has a "reasonable doubt, based objective considerations, as to the incumbent Union's contended majority status," provided the results of the polling are not relied on to supply the necessary "good-faith reasonable doubt." <u>Allentown</u> at 364. Additionally, the Court in <u>Allentown</u> rejected the Board’s reasoning that “doubt” means actual and certain disbelief. Rather, it held that “doubt” reflects “uncertain, tentative or provisional disbelief. <u>Allentown</u> at 367.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">In <u>Levitz</u>, however, the Board expressed a preference for Board-conducted elections, and eased the standard for employer-filed petitions to “objectively based, reasonable “uncertainty” as to majority support, while tightening up the standard for unilateral withdrawal of recognition, to actual loss of majority support. Although <u>Levitz</u> expressly did not change the standard for employer pollings, </span><span style="font-size: small;">the shift in law has created an uncertainty for parties. </span><span style="font-size: small;"><u></u> </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">The final requirement for pollings is that they be well noticed, non-coercive and include procedural safeguards. <u>Grenada Stamping and Assembly, Inc.</u>, 351 NLRB 1152 (2007), <u>Texas Petrochemicals</u>, <u>supra</u>, and <u>Stuksnes Construction Co.</u>, 165 NLRB 1062 (1967). Specifically, any polling must adhere to the following safeguards:</span></div>
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<li><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"></span>the union must be provided reasonable advance notice of the time and place of the polling;</span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"></span>the polling must be done for the purpose of ascertaining continuing majority support;</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">t</span><span style="font-size: small;">hat purpose must be communicated to the employees;</span><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">there must be assurances given against reprisals;</span><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">employees must be polled by secret ballot; and</span><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">the employer must not engage in unfair labor practices or otherwise create a coercive environment</span></li>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Because of the presumption in favor of Board conducted elections, the employer bears the burden of demonstrating all procedural safeguards have been met. <u>Grenada Stamping</u> at 1176, citing <u>Montgomery Ward & Co.</u>, 210 NLRB 717, 724-725 (1974). </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Dispute regarding whether employer polling allowed under PEBA</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">As discussed, the potential legality of an employer polling under the NLRA is well established, and there is no express provision in either PEBA or Public Employee Labor Relations Board (PELRB) case law prohibiting employer pollings under New Mexico law. Nonetheless, some union advocates have urged to me or the PELRB, <u>see e.g.</u>, Cases 121-10 and 122-10, <u>NEA v. Dulce Schools</u>, that such pollings should be illegal under New Mexico law.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Generally, PEBA has been interpreted by the PELRB to be consistent with the NLRA, even in the many instances where PEBA speaks in broad strokes and the NLRA provides much more detail. <u>See, e.g.</u>, <a href="http://www.pelrb.state.nm.us/pdf/peba/pelrbpracticemanual.pdf">PELRB Practice Manual at 19</a>. The exception, of course, would be where there is either an actual conflict, or where the differences in language reflect a different public policy, such as one specially related to or affected by public sector conditions. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">However, here, the statutory grounds for authorizing employer pollings are not based on any provision in the NLRA that is distinct from the New Mexico Public Employee Bargaining Act (PEBA). Specifically, contrary to what may be suggested by union advocates, the authority for employer pollings does not lie in NLRA provisions permitting employers to file de-certification petitions, which PEBA does not share. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Rather, the statutory grounds are the prohibition on domination of or interference with unions. It is a wide spread and axiomatic labor principle that an employer cannot recognize a union that does not have majority support, and that to do so would amount to the establishment of a "company union" in violation of the prohibition on interference with or domination of a union. </span><span style="font-size: small;">Indeed, it could be argued that unilateral withdrawal is a functional necessity in a scheme, such as PEBA, where the employer lacks a statutory mechanism to petition the Board for a majority support election when continued majority support is in reasonable, good faith doubt </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Improper for a 3<sup>rd</sup> party poll supervisor to look into the merits of the poll</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">In conducting polls, I have from time to time been challenged as to whether the employer in fact had objectively based reasonable good faith doubt as to a loss of majority support.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">In a polling case, the Agency at issue will:</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">look at all evidence and decide the matter on a case-by-case basis. Some examples of the types of evidence that the employer may present to establish “uncertainty” include anti-union petitions signed by unit employees, firsthand statements by employees concerning personal opposition to an incumbent union, employees’ verified statements concerning other employees’ anti-union sentiments, and employees’ statements expressing dissatisfaction with the union’s performance as bargaining representatives. In contrast, evidence that only one employee made an anti-8nion statement; that newly hired employees failed to join the union; that some employees failed to authorize dues checkoff; and that the union failed to file grievances, appoint a steward, or submit a tentative agreement to employees for ratification may be insufficient to demonstrate a good faith uncertainty. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><u>See</u> ABA, <a href="http://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/migrated/labor/basics/nlra/papers/obligations.authcheckdam.pdf">Management and Union’s Rights and Obligations in Collective Bargaining</a>. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Ultimately, however, it would be improper for me to engage in that analysis, as a contracted pole supervisor. I do not represent the employer’s interests and am not serving as its legal counsel. (Indeed, I am prohibited from doing so, as a result of my service on numerous state and regional arbitration panels.) Nor I am a serving as a hearing examiner on behalf of the PELRB or other duly constituted labor board, in such a situation. Accordingly, I take any employer assertions concerning its good faith uncertainty at face value, and leave merits determinations to the labor board in the event a prohibited practice is filed on the matter.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">If you require independent polling services, or have any <a href="http://www.pilarvailepc.com/laborlaw.html">labor or employment matters</a> that you would like to resolve privately through a knowledgeable and experienced arbitrator or mediator, please feel free to contact Pilar Vaile, P.C. at (505) 247-0802, or <a href="mailto:info@pilarvailepc.com">info@pilarvailepc.com</a>.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.pilarvailepc.com/attorney.html">Pilar Vaile</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.pilarvailepc.com/index.html">Pilar Vaile, P.C.</a> </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.mapquest.com/?version=1.0&hk=6-AihX16Jm">Albuquerque, NM</a></span></div>
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<br /></div>Pilar Vaile, Esq.http://www.blogger.com/profile/14704156079003286540noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2662198681733565782.post-66407166723573432742012-03-29T22:31:00.003-07:002012-09-23T04:26:02.866-07:00PELRB Watch and Other NM Labor News<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: justify;">
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<span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Governor Wins Battle on Labor Board Appointment</span><span class="text"></span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">The most significant recent </span></span><a href="http://www.pilarvailepc.com/attorney.html">PELRB-related</a><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> news, is that the Supreme Court declined to review District Court Judge Nan Nash's decision that Governor Martinez could appoint the so called "labor representative" upon recommendation of any New Mexico labor organization, not just the biggies, AFSCME Council 18 or CWA Local 7076. <u>See</u> Albuquerque Journal, <i>Gov. Wins Labor Battle</i>, Mar. 14, 2012.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">As readers may recall, I had previously been </span><span style="line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://albuquerqueadr2.blogspot.com/2011/07/note-on-afscme-et-al-v-hon-susana.html"><span style="font-weight: normal;">critical of the underlying reasoning in a state Supreme Court ruling</span></a></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> that the Governor's removal power is severely limited as to the PELRB. <u>See</u></span> <u>AFSCME v. Martinez</u>, 2011-NMSC-018. To me, the decision appeared</span><br />
<a name='more'></a><span style="font-size: small;"> over broad, ill reasoned and results oriented. Others also read it broadly, apparently. When the Governor subsequently replaced Member John Boyd with </span><span style="font-size: small;">Roger "Bart" Bartosiewicz</span><span style="font-size: small;">, another member was heard to remark that the courts would surely overturn that in light of the Supreme Court's decision in<u> AFSCME v. Martinez</u><span style="font-weight: normal;">. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Obviously this was a patently silly statement since the cases involved two different fact patters and issues. As I've written elsewhere, the </span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://albuquerqueadr2.blogspot.com/2011/07/pelrb-to-be-sued-again-soon-and-what-of.html">Public Employee Bargaining Act (PEBA) says nothing about any union having a controlling voice</a><span style="font-weight: normal;"> in the appointment of the "labor representative." (I use quotes because although popular, the term is loathsome to me, since it connotes bias.) However, this board member's cheerful sentiment ironically reflected my own fears about the largely Democratic </span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">and </span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> </span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">frequently proactive </span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">New Mexico judiciary. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Thus, I was relieved and heartened by Judge Nash's sensible decision on the appointment of Member </span></span><span style="font-size: small;">Bartosiewicz</span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">, but still concerned the Supreme Court would again leap at the opportunity to chastise the Governor, as it had been wont to do in the first year of her administration. Luckily, my fears were misplaced this go-round.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">PELRB quickly but dubiously processing matters </span></span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">I completed a file audit of PELRB matters recently, which illuminated some concerning trends. </span><a href="http://www.pilarvailepc.com/laborlaw.html#pelrb_anchor">See Firm's updated PELRB Statistics</a></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">First, the new Director is closing cases rapidly, but all is not rosy. Many are being closed administratively for failure to prosecute under NMAC 11.21.1.29, or for facial inadequacy under NMAC 11.21.3.19(A), or by party stipulation of settlement. I always approve of, and as a hearing examiner judiciously used, administrative closures with proper notice and opportunity to object. An ALJ or hearing examiner should always exercise vigorous control over the docket, as retired Judge James Hall once advised me. As for the settlements: heck, it's been a good year, year and a half since many of these cases were filed, so I should certainly hope the parties would be able to settle some of these. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">However, at least some are being closed based on the Director's ex parte investigation. <u>See, e.g.</u>, Case 1</span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">32-11, <u>AFSCME 18 v. Human Services Dept</u>.</span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> When questioned, the Director has apparently cited PELRB regulations. Although PELRB rules allow for such a contingency, <u>see</u> NMAC 11.21.3.12(B), they also provide for persons other than the Director to hearing matters. <u>See, e.g.</u>, NMAC 21.11.3.14 and 21.11.2.19(B). Moreover, PEBA states any adjudicatory hearings must meet the minimum requirements of due process, <u>see</u> 10-7E-12(B), and we can only presume the PELRB intended the Director to follow due process in applying NMAC 11.21.3.12(B). Notably, as I've written elsewhere, it is basic, black letter judicial/ALJ ethics and due process that a decision maker </span></span><a href="http://albuquerqueadr2.blogspot.com/2012/02/union-and-management-reps-slammed-in.html">cannot conduct ex parte investigations</a><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Second, the PELRB continues to take action in apparent ignorance or disregard of PELRB precedent, rules and procedures. </span></span></div>
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<li><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">In Case 305-11, <u>AFSCME and Moriarty</u>, Member Westbrook approved a voluntary recognition with no indication in the final Order that the alleged majority support was independently verified by the PELRB as required under NMAC 11.21.2.39(A), 11.21.2.11. </span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">In Case 134-11, <u>CWA v. Public Eduction Dept.</u>, the Board tabled a motion to disqualify the Director as hearing examiner until the Director could rule on that motion, in violation of NMAC 11.21.1.14(A), which vests that decision making responsibility in the Board itself. </span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">In Case 314-10, <u>NMCPSO and Town of Bernalillo</u>, the Director has set the matter for representation election without explanation, although incumbent's are entitled to a card count under PELRB precedent. </span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">In a series of <u>City of Albuquerque cases</u> discussed further below, the PELRB has summarily affirmed the Director's shocking and unsupported conclusion that grandfathered local boards lose grandfathered status if they do not follow PELRB interpretation of PEBA. </span></span></li>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Many appeals are accruing regarding Grandfathered Boards</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">In an alarming series of</span></span><span style="font-size: small; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;"> identical decisions </span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">involving the City of Albuquerque, the Director has </span></span><span style="font-size: small; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">concluded and the Board has affirmed that the PELRB can apply case law governing PELRB approved local boards to grandfathered boards, to revoke the latter’s grandfathered status. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">In all of these cases, no underlying facts were given, and the Director ultimately concluded there were insufficient facts to conclude the PELRB could or should revoke the local board’s grandfathered status, such as that it was unproductive, being manipulated, non-functioning, or issuing decisions or taking action in violation of PELRB decisions interpreting PEBA. </span><span style="font-size: small; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">However, the Director went on to state that although there was therefore no jurisdiction to hear the matters, the PELRB nonetheless had jurisdiction to remand the matter to the grandfathered board, rather than dismissing the complaints. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">That the matters have been sent back to the local board </span><span style="font-size: small; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">would ordinarily be a relief, but the dangerous dicta and statement of jurisdiction cannot be prudently ignored by the City. It is presumably for that reason that the City is appealing all of these cases in which it is ostensibly the prevailing party. <u>See</u> </span><span style="font-size: small; font-weight: normal;">AFSCME 18, AFSCME 1888, IAFF Local 244, and Albuquerque POA v. City of Albuquerque</span><span style="font-size: small; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">, Case Nos. 103-11, 104-11, 105-11, 106-11, 107-11, 108-11, 121-10, 133-11 and 128-10.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Retroactive validation of actions under Open Meetings Act in jeopardy?</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">Last year, I wrote about the </span><a href="http://albuquerqueadr2.blogspot.com/2011/07/nm-pelrb-update.html">PELRB's mass retroactive validation of actions in 34 different cases taken in violation of the Open Meetings Act (OMA)</a><span style="font-size: small; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">. A recent Court of Appeals decision, <u>Palenick v. City of Rio Rancho</u>, 2012-NMCA-018 calls that practice into questions. In <u>Palenick</u>, the Appeals Court concluded that such an attempt at retroactive "cure" is invalid under the OMA, because in violation of the plain language of the Act, and because to rule otherwise would "remove the incentive to comply with the Act," and "undermine[] the Act and essentially render [it] meaningless." Id. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">C</span><span style="font-size: small; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">ertiori has been granted, Case No. 33,380. </span><span style="font-size: small; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">If the decision stands, the PELRB will likely have a lot of new/old work. However, the decision may well be reversed as impracticable. People in the know say </span><span style="font-size: small; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">this is a common practice by public bodies throughout New Mexico, and the Supreme Court could conclude such an interpretation is too cumbersome on government, or that it will promote instability by putting </span><span style="font-size: small; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">too many past actions </span><span style="font-size: small; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">in jeopardy. If the Supreme Court does reverse the decision, it could conceivably strike a balance by imposing some limitations on the use of retroactive cures, to provide an incentive to get it right the first time.</span><span style="font-size: small; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;"> </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="line-height: 115%;">Other labor news, the good, the bad and the ugly</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">The ugly news elsewhere are the attacks on City Personnel Hearing Examiner T. Zane Reeves, PhD, against whom the City is alleging bias in the reinstatement of a police officer dismissed for being associated with allegations surrounding Officer Levi Chavez and the death of his wife. <u>See</u> Albuquerque Journal, Mar. 15, 2012. Dr. Reeves is both a friend and a mentor, whom I believe to be above reproach in demeanor, conduct and decision-making competence. While I have not agreed with his every decision, they have always appeared to me to been well reasoned and supported by substantial evidence,</span><span style="font-size: small; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;"> and I am upset on his behalf</span><span style="font-size: small; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">. He himself, however, continues to keep his neutral cool, and humor, simply noting Gaelicly that we neutrals are all judged by our last decision.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">The bad news is that concerning the Albuquerque Police Officers Association (POA), </span><a href="http://albuquerqueadr2.blogspot.com/2012/02/union-and-management-reps-slammed-in.html">some of which I've previously written</a><span style="font-size: small; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">. Since I last wrote, we have learned that the President and Vice-President were receiving--in addition to their regular City salary for union work--much more money from Union dues than originally admitted, and that the President's wife was also on the union payroll. <u>See</u> Albuquerque Journal, Mar. 15, 2012, and Mar. 21, 2012. Moreover, additional public disquiet has resulted from the revelation that the POA has been paying $500.00 to officers suspended with pay as a result of on the job shootings, which some members of the public have decried as a "bounty." <u>See</u> Albuquerque Journal, Mar. 23, 2012, and Mar. 28, 2028. As a result of these scandals, both officers have resigned from the union. <u>See </u>Albuquerque Journal, Mar. 28, 2012.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">As for the good news... Well, I cant say that I have seen any recently. These days it seems many public actors are behaving a bit badly--or without regard for public perception at the least. Perhaps it's the culture, or the times. I do hope we grow out of it. </span></div>
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Pilar Vaile, Esq.http://www.blogger.com/profile/14704156079003286540noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2662198681733565782.post-22326800160985252252012-02-29T22:13:00.002-08:002012-03-29T21:05:45.647-07:00Union and Management Reps Slammed in News, and Other NM Labor News<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;">The past week's news was newsworthy in including two stories that raise questions about </span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://www.pilarvailepc.com/laborlaw.html">collective bargaining</a></span> representatives. Although the issues were different, the parallel timing was really quite ironic. There is also interesting but worrisome news concerning the State </span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://www.pilarvailepc.com/attorney.html">Labor Board ("PELRB")</a></span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">.</span></span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;">On Friday, February 24, 2012, the Albuquerque Journal reported that a newly retired </span></div><a name='more'></a><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;">CNM Vice President over "administrative services," including human resources, and labor and employment relations, was immediately awarded a short term, and later a longer term contract, as a labor consultant. This representative, Bob Brown, is well known in labor circles. As a strong and successful management advocate, the union at CNM had no doubt looked forward to his departure, and are by all accounts rather miffed that he is still around. </span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;">Union representative Andy Tibble credited Mr. Brown with a "yearslong impasse," and stated, "People on the faculty hoped with Bob Brown retired, we would be able to get something done." Imagine his surprise that Mr. Brown is still a force to be reckoned with: "I'll call people in human resources and they cant give me things until they've checked with Bob ... To me that means he's essentially still running that Department." Mr. Brown himself characterized the relationship as contentious but professional. (It recalled to me a transcript I had read of a prior CNM Labor Board hearing in which the Union representative described him as deceptively charming and ultimately implacable, to paraphrase.)</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;">The Educational Retirement Board (ERB) had previously concluded upon reconsideration, however, "[t]he description of the services that he would provide ... were much narrower" than in the first submission or his prior job. Mr. Brown himself explained that "labor relations was 'a very small piece' of what he did for CNM as Vice President and that his new role is different." He also added that "[w]orking for CNM is only one of many contracts he has with other clients." </span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;">Then, today, the Journal reported that Albuquerque Attorney Fred Mowrer, who represents the Fraternal Order of Police, had recently warned the Union executive board that the use of $259,000 in dues over the past two years for "administrative and union work" is draining the union's coffers and "could endanger the ability to pay for litigation in State District Court against the City..." From this sum, two Albuquerque Police Officers and police union representatives, President Joey Sigala and Vice President Felipe Garcia, receive union stipends that amount to an additional 50% and 37%, respectively, over their regular City salary of $52,374. </span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;">Dues had apparently been raised in early 2010 from $17.00/month to $27.00/month in early 2010, and for "contract negotiations to get [the Union] message out there." The Journal also reports that President Sigala himself is unassigned so his City salary funds only union related activities which, as the article discusses quite well, has been a hotly contested issue with the City. President Sigala objected to Mr. Mowrer's email to the extent its suggested his and Vice President Garica's stipends constituted the entire $259,000.</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;">Finally, there's news on the State PELRB front. Although I haven't quantified the results, I've concluded a file audit and it looks like the new Director, Tom Griego, has been quite busy. Many recommended decisions have been issued, and many have gone up on appeal to the PELRB and to District Court. Regrettably, rumor has it there are some procedural concerns, such as the Director actively investigating the facts underlying matters he intends to later hear; the mysterious appearance of evidence into the record concerning Director Griego's past client(s) that was not formally introduced by either party; and the Director hearing and deciding motions to have him recused, in violation of PELRB rules. </span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;">I say regrettably because, although no one knows at this point if they are true, the allegations are quite serious and could bring into question the integrity of Director Griego as a hearing examiner, and the PELRB as a neutral adjudicative body. <u>See</u> Model Code of Judicial Conduct for State Administrative Law Judges, Canons 1 and 2 (</span><span style="font-size: small;">A State Administrative Law Judge Shall Uphold the Integrity and </span><span style="font-size: small;">Independence of the Administrative Judiciary, and </span><span style="font-size: small;">A State Administrative Law Judge Shall Avoid Impropriety and the </span><span style="font-size: small;">Appearance of Impropriety in All Activities). </span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;">The issue of not applying PELRB rules is troubling in so far as that is a fundamental job requirement of a Board Agent to apply the governing statute and regulations. I myself was never fond of the rule requiring the Board to rule on motions to disqualify, and had at my separation intended to propose a rule change permitting the hearing examiner to make that initial determination, as judges do. In my experience, the rule as written was frequently used in a baseless fashion to delay proceedings. However, the only way to get around the rule is to have it duly amended upon notice and publication, </span><span style="font-size: small;">not to unilaterally fail to apply it.</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;">The more alarming questions concern bias or appearance of bias. PELRB rules do provide for investigation of PPCs. However, it does not state how it is to be done and, obviously, hearing examiners cannot privately investigate matters pending before them. This would constitute ex party contact and would likely result in the eventual consideration of evidence obtained ex parte, which in turn raises serious due process considerations related to the right to an impartial decision maker. It is for precisely this reason that Boards such as the NLRB and the state Disciplinary Board have separate investigatory and adjudicator wings, with a Chines Wall between them. </span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: justify;"></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;">Also alarming is the allegation (I understand a motion has been filed on the issue) that evidence obtained ex parte may have been surreptitiously added to a record ex parte by PELRB staff. This would be highly inappropriate in any case, but special concern exists due to circumstances: the hearing examine had previously represented the party on whose behalf the evidence has allegedly, mysteriously appeared. </span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;">Whether true or not, none of this bodes well for public perceptions as to the integrity of the office and agency. It may be in relation to these issues that the PELRB is hosting a lunchtime </span>"Procedural Discussion" on March 29, 2012 (with lunch provided gratis). Unfortunately, if so, that may not be such a good idea either. My understanding is that some or all of these are currently litigated issues. As such, they should probably not be aired by Agency agents outside of a formal and duly noticed public hearing.</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><br />
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</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">If you have any </span><a href="http://www.pilarvailepc.com/laborlaw.html"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">labor or employment matters</span></a><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"> that you would like to resolve privately through a knowledgeable and experienced arbitrator or mediator, please feel free to contact Pilar Vaile, P.C. at (505) 247-0802, or </span><a href="mailto:info@pilarvailepc.com"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">info@pilarvailepc.com</span></a></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><a href="http://www.pilarvailepc.com/attorney.html"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Pilar Vaile</span></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 100.5pt; text-align: justify;"><a href="http://www.pilarvailepc.com/index.html"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Pilar Vaile, P.C.</span></a> </div><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://www.mapquest.com/?version=1.0&hk=6-AihX16Jm">Albuquerque, NM</a></span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><br />
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</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: justify;"></div>Pilar Vaile, Esq.http://www.blogger.com/profile/14704156079003286540noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2662198681733565782.post-33834893508092179742012-02-09T07:30:00.000-08:002012-02-09T07:31:59.593-08:00Workers Comp and Tribal Immunity Revisited--What a Tangled Web<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;">As discussed in a <span style="line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://albuquerqueadr2.blogspot.com/2011/01/new-mexico-workers-compensation-law.html">previous blog</a></span>, in 2010, the New Mexico Court of Appeals concluded that the <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://www.pilarvailepc.com/laborlaw.html">Workers Compensation Administration</a></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"> does not have jurisdiction where a Worker is injured in the course of employment at a business wholly owned and operated by a federally recognized Indian tribe, if the Tribe has not expressly waived sovereign immunity. <u>See</u> <u>Antonio v. Inn of the Mountain Gods Resort and Casino</u>, 2010-NMCA-077, cert. den. </span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;">However, recent cases highlight that there can be quite a bit of parsing between tribal business entities, and as to whether which if any have waived tribal immunity</span><br />
<a name='more'></a><span style="font-size: small;"> and the effect of their relationship to one another. They also reflect a level of state power that potentially exists even in the face of tribal immunity.</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>Martinez v. Pojoaque Gaming, Inc, dba Cities of Gold Casino</i> (<i>Martinez I</i>) 2009-NMCA-087, and</span><span style="font-size: small;"> <i>Martinez v. Pojoaque Gaming, Inc, dba Cities of Gold Casino</i> (<i>Martinez II</i>) 2011-NMCA-103, cert den., dealt with the tribal immunity of Pojoaque Gaming Inc. (PGI) and the the Pueblo of Pojoaque Gaming Commission (PPGC). It was determined that the latter was immune from suit, but that the former had waived its tribal immunity.</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;">Nonetheless, the Court of Appeals also concluded the WCA can order the PGI to rehire to rehire an employee found to have been fired in retaliation for filing a workers compensation claim, even though the PPGC had suspended the employee's license and the WCJ lacked authority to order the PPGC to reinstate that license. The WCJ had found that PGI had intentionally and in bad faith retaliated against the employee, but concluded the WCJ had not authority to remedy the violation since the WCJ could not require the PPGC to license the worker. The Court of Appeals mandated the WCJ to order PGI to rehire the employee in <i>Martinez I</i>, and in <i>Martinez II</i> that order was reiterated quite sternly. </span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;">The Court observed the "statutory provision does not recognize that an employer might have legitimate business reasons for not rehiring the employee nor does it allow consideration of any other remedies as a substitute for rehire. More importantly, nothing in Section 52-1-28.2(B) allows an employer who has acted in bad faith and with 'willful, wanton or reckless disregard' of a worker's rights to escape with no sanction as the WCJ decided in this instance." <u>Id</u>. at para. 15.</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><br />
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</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">If you have any </span><a href="http://www.pilarvailepc.com/laborlaw.html"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">labor or employment matters</span></a><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"> that you would like to resolve privately through a knowledgeable and experienced arbitrator or mediator, please feel free to contact Pilar Vaile, P.C. at (505) 247-0802, or </span><a href="mailto:info@pilarvailepc.com"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">info@pilarvailepc.com</span></a><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"></span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><a href="http://www.pilarvailepc.com/attorney.html"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Pilar Vaile</span></a><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; tab-stops: 100.5pt; text-align: justify;"><a href="http://www.pilarvailepc.com/index.html"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Pilar Vaile, P.C.</span></a> <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"></span></div><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://www.mapquest.com/?version=1.0&hk=6-AihX16Jm">Albuquerque, NM</a></span></div>Pilar Vaile, Esq.http://www.blogger.com/profile/14704156079003286540noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2662198681733565782.post-41156965118734973382012-01-23T09:44:00.000-08:002012-01-23T10:15:05.526-08:00Public Sector Employee Benefit Obligations Avoided with Chapter 9 Bankruptcy<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">I have </span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><a href="http://albuquerqueadr2.blogspot.com/2010/12/public-sector-pensions-times-they-are.html"><span style="color: blue;">previously written</span></a></span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;"> about the threat of unfunded public sector pension obligations. Since then, several municipalities are reported to be using or contemplating use of Chapter 9 bankruptcy. <u>See</u> Mark Curriden, "<i>The Next Chapter</i>," ABA Journal, Nov. 2011. In doing so, many of these municipalities cite </span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><a href="http://www.pilarvailepc.com/laborlaw.html"><span style="color: blue;">employee pension and retiree health care obligations</span></a></span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;"> as the cause or source of their financial woes. </span><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Chapter 9 was created in 1934, "in the heart of the Depression," and is only available if provided for under State law. New Mexico law does not permit Chapter 9 bankruptcy, but other states do allow it. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Municipalities using it so far include Prichard, Alabama (Jefferson County), and Vallejo, California (Bay Area). However, they have done so amid a great deal of fan fare and public reporting, and a number other communities are expressly contemplating its use as well, including: Stockton and Camden New Jersey; Central Falls, Rhode Island; San Diego, California; Hamtramck, Michigan; and Harrisburg, P.A. Although Los Angeles has expressly rejected that option to date, some city leaders believe it will only be a matter of time before it too succumbs. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Is the threat imminent and appropriate? Many public sector employees and unions decry the avoidance of pension and retiree health care obligations as simply pushing onto the backs of low-paid employees the costs of curing a recession they didn't create. For instance, in Prichard, local attorney Robert Hedge, who represents the town's retires, claims that "the average pension was only about $15,000 a year," and "[t]he highest pension was $36,000 annually for a fire chief who had nearly four decades of service to the city." And most people agree that the shocking and exorbitant obligations negotiated by Vallejo were wholly anomalous across the nation. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">What then is the source of the deep fear and suspicion over these unfunded obligations? Marc Levinson, a partner at Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe in Sacramento says small towns like Prichard are especially vulnerable to bankruptcy because their unfunded pensions, although small in the relative scheme of things, are still an overwhelming percentage of their annual budgets, for which they have no means of generating additional revenue. Duane Brown, a New Mexico bond attorney with Modrall Sperling (and, by way of disclosure, my husband), adds that the specter of unfunded liabilities also makes bond holders nervous because they threaten bankruptcy, which in turn threatens the renegotiation and potential devaluation of all obligations, including bonds. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">If you are interested in mediation or arbitration services for a labor or employment matter, please contact <a href="http://www.pilarvailepc.com/index.html"><span style="color: blue;">Pilar Vaile, P.C.</span></a> at (505) 247-0802 or <a href="mailto:info@pilarvailepc.com"><span style="color: blue;">info@pilarvailepc.com</span></a>.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><a href="http://www.pilarvailepc.com/attorney.html"><span style="color: blue;">Pilar Vaile</span></a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><a href="http://www.pilarvailepc.com/index.html"><span style="color: blue;">Pilar Vaile, P.C.</span></a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><a href="http://www.mapquest.com/?version=1.0&hk=6-AihX16Jm"><span style="color: blue;">Albuquerque, NM</span></a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Source: Mark Curriden, "<i>The Next Chapter</i>," ABA Journal, Nov. 2011. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div>Pilar Vaile, Esq.http://www.blogger.com/profile/14704156079003286540noreply@blogger.com