What Employers Need to Know About Public and Private Sectors of Labor Law

Public sector employees have protections under the Public Employment Relations Act (PERA), which is enforced by the Michigan Employment Relations Commission (MERC). The panel discusses what public sector employers need to know when there is union organizing activity, during collective bargaining, and processing of grievances up to and including arbitration.
Private sector employees have protections under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), which is enforced by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). As with public sector employers, private sector employers need to know how to properly respond to union organizing activity. But non-union employers also need to know how the NLRB protects employees who engage in protected, concerted activity even if there is no union. And employers must be aware of how the NLRB is challenging employment policies contained in employee handbooks and elsewhere, as many if not most policies implemented before the current NLRB may be found to be unlawful under today's labor law.