Labor and Employment Law Commons^™

Sick Leave Benefits: The Nlrb Reexamines The Rights Of Disabled Employees During A Strike, W. Carter Bates

Mercer Law Review

In E.L. Wiegand Division, Emerson Electric Co., the National Labor Relations Board (Board) held that an employer may no longer require disabled employees on sick leave to disavow strike activity in order to receive employee disability benefits. The Board went on to hold, however, that once the disabled employee shows affirmative support for the strike, he runs the risk of forfeiting his right to disability benefits. In Emerson, the Board completely reexamined the rights of disabled employees in the context of a labor dispute and expressly overruled its prior decision in Southwestern Electric Power Co.

Nlrb V. Catholic Bishop: Lay Teachers Seek More Than Good Shepherd To Protect Their Rights, Laurie L. Hughes

Mercer Law Review

In NLRB v. Catholic Bishop, the Supreme Court, in a 5-4 decision, held that coverage of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) does not extend to lay teachers employed by church-operated schools which include both religious and secular subjects in their curriculums. As will be seen, this conclusion was reached not on traditional first amendment analysis, but instead on narrow statutory construction.

Prior to the decision in Catholic Bishop, the National Labor Relations Board (Board) had long wrestled with jurisdictional issues pertaining to nonprofit educational institutions. The 1951 decision in Trustees of Columbia University made firm the Board's …

Labor Law, Robert W. Ashmore, Michael H. Campbell

Mercer Law Review

During 1976, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals again issued a substantial number of decisions interpreting and applying the growing number of federal statutes governing employer-employee relationships.' It is noteworthy that of nearly 60 cases reviewed, 29 were reversed, vacated or modified, at least in part. Factors such as the high percentage of unorganized employees in the circuit and the consequent active union organizing efforts provided the court with a wide variety of labor cases and with, perhaps, greater familiarity with the law in this area than some other circuits have. For whatever reasons, the court's decisions this term indicate …

If Coverage Of 'No-Strike' Clause Is Only Issue For Arbitrtor, Strike May Not Be Enjoined, Robert C. Clark Jr.

Mercer Law Review

In Buffalo Forge Co. v. Steelworkers of America, the U.S. Supreme Court held in a 5-4 decision that §4 of the Norris-La Guardia Act' prevents a federal court from enjoining a sympathy strike while an arbitrator is deciding whether the strike is covered by a no-strike clause. The Court's decision settled the sole question left unanswered by Boys Markets, Inc. v. Retail Clerks Union.

Denying Maternity Benefits Is Not Sex Discrimination Under Title Vii, Dewey Ray Mckenzie Jr.

Mercer Law Review

The U.S. Supreme Court, in General Electric v. Gilbert, held that the exclusion of pregnancy benefits from General Electric's general coverage disability plan for employees did not violate Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. General Electric's disability plan provided sickness and accident benefits for all employees, including those who became disabled as a result of a non-occupational sickness or accident. The plaintiffs in the initial suit were hourly paid production workers in General Electric's Salem, Virginia, plant, each of whom had become pregnant and had filed a claim for disability benefits. Each had been denied payment …

Effect Of Verdict For Employee In Joint Action Against Employer And Employee, Cubbege Snow Jr.

Mercer Law Review

The recent decision in the case of Moffett v. McCurry, decided by a full bench of the Court of Appeals of Georgia, brings to mind the question presented by this comment. That is, what is the effect of a verdict in favor of the employee in a joint action against the employer and employee?

In considering this problem, there are actually two different answers, both of which are followed by a majority of the jurisdictions in the United States. And these two solutions are not inconsistent, but are rather in harmony, one applying under one situation of facts and …

Migratory Labor--Some Legal, Economic And Social Aspects, William S. Tyson

Mercer Law Review

For the past year, the farmers of our country have been called upon to produce the largest crops in our history. As one official of the United States Department of Agriculture has stated, "This is really a remarkable goal in view of the fact that our farm production in nine out of the last twelve years has either set a new record for production or has equalled the record then existing." Agricultural production is as essential in our present mobilization effort as it was in World War II. It is, therefore, imperative that this nation increase its supplies of agricultural …

Can Administrative Handling Of Labor Problems Bring Industrial Peace?, E. Kontz Bennett

Mercer Law Review

The American bar has frequently criticized the everincreasing use of administrative agencies to handle legal problems. On the other hand, the bar itself has frequently been criticized by the lay public for its failure to expand legal machinery and legal concepts so as to meet a rapidly changing world. The bar, known for its ability to appraise honestly its own shortcomings, has often posed this question: "Would the administrative agencies be so frequently and consistently set up by law-making bodies if they did not supply a real need?"

Position Of Labor In Georgia, J. Carlton Ivey

Mercer Law Review

Georgia has no uniform system of laws pertaining to industrial relations. The statutes which have been passed are designed primarily to serve a threefold purpose-to guarantee to the individual employee the fullest freedom in exercising his right to work, to protect the rights of employers in any lawful business, and to maintain peace and order in industrial disputes. The state laws, as a whole, follow a public policy somewhat resembling the doctrine of laissez-faire, with the scales tipped definitely in favor of the employer. There are no state laws patterned after the National Labor Relations Act, the Federal Anti-Injunction Act …