Employment Law Essays

Given the Circumstances and Grievance to Labor Union

Given the circumstances and the fact that Jack has submitted an official grievance to the labor union, the union will probably get in touch with Jack’s management to set up a meeting. Phil firing Jack while alleging insubordination on Jack’s behalf is highly improbable. Additionally, according to the NLRB (n.d.), it is unlawful for employers to exercise their “rights to form, join, or assist a labor union.” This is so because Jack has always followed instructions, and he has even skipped work after receiving approval from Steve. The union will contact the firm because they will be acting as Jack’s representatives.

Resolution Scenarios

In order to resolve the issue, two scenarios might occur. The firm might opt for early settlement or let the issue go to trial with the union laws in consideration. Taking the early settlement as its benefits and because Phil feels that Jack is the problem, they are less likely to take this option. Sultan (2012) explains that with early settlements, the issue is resolved as quickly and amicably as possible. Both parties state their side of the issue but it is the firm that will have to offer Jack a better environment to work in. This will save its credibility and help maintain its employees (Sultan, 2012).

Steps for Resolving the Issue

For the second option, the following steps as explained by NLRB (n.d.) have to be observed. The first step will be for a formal grievance to be filed with the union which Jack already did. The next step is for the union to investigate the situation. The importance of this is to establish the facts of the issue in order to pace the way for a formal action (NLRB, n.d.). The complaint and answer will then be issued by the regional director to sermon the respondent for hiring over the issues. The next step will be the hearing and decision. For this, both sides of the issue give their facts and a decision will be made based on this. For this particular situation, the decision is most likely to be for the firm to cease and desist from its unfair employee treatment actions. Reason being that Jack was being bullied not only by his fellow workmate but his leaders as well. The last step is court enforcement and review where the appropriate appeals are looked into if the respondent opts to appeal the case at the Supreme Court level.

Resolving the Issue as the HR Manager

The above scenario best explains how to resolve the issue. However, as the HR manager for the plant, I would resolve to identify the cultural and ethical practices that the plant upholds to get to the root cause of the problem. As highlighted in the situation, it appears as though the plant has a culture of disregarding how employees are treating by not only management but other employees alike. Therefore, to get to the root of the problem, it will be my obligation as the HR manager to establish the current cultural and ethical practices associated with the plant.

This should allow for a change in the positive direction to be initiated. As explained by Heathfield (2016), having a culture that is ethically correct towards every employee will promote the spirit of responsibility, accountability and proper management of conflicts. Therefore, the root problem will have been identified and an effective long time solution to it implemented.

References

Heathfield, S. (2016). Culture: Your Environment for People at Work. Retrieved from https://www.thebalance.com/culture-your-environment-for-people-at-work-1918809

NLRB (n.d.). Rights We Protect. Retrieved from https://www.nlrb.gov/rights-we-protect

NLRB (n.d.). Unfair Labor Practice Process Chart. Retrieved from https://www.nlrb.gov/resources/nlrb-process/unfair-labor-practice-process-chart

Sultan, M. (2012). Grievance Procedure. Retrieved from http://www.slideshare.net/mohdhanifah/grievance-procedure-13512386