Employer Law Blog

One of the little discussed provisions of the CARES Act are those added by House Democrats to curry favor with organized labor. The first is that borrowers who obtain loans under the Act must make a good faith certification that they will remain neutral in any union organizing effort for the term of the loan. The effect of this provision is to force neutrality upon borrowers under the CARES Act for the duration of their loans. This means that a borrower commits not to say or do anything to oppose a union’s organizing effort. Borrowers should be aware of this requirement which, in effect, abrogates some of their rights under the National Labor Relations Act.

Social media allows people to connect with people that they know and investigate people that they do not know. Employers commonly use social media as a tool to discover information about job applicants and to monitor their employees' online activities. However, employers should beware of the litigation potential before disciplining their employees for social media conduct they consider to be disloyal, insubordinate or offensive to the company.