The upshot of litigation surrounding the Asset Purchase Agreement in the Crozer-Keystone Health Systemscase has culminated into expanded employer requirements in such sales. During the last portion of judicial ping-pong, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals remanded to the NLRB to analyze relevancy of the unions documents requests and to set standards. The result of this deliberation:
In the specific context of a corporate transaction, sellers should keep in mind the following:
- A sales agreement may not be presumptively relevant in its entirety, but certain information within the sales agreement may overcome this presumption if a union plans on engaging in effects bargaining
- Any public statements regarding the sale’s effects on employees could be held against the seller.
- Agreements with the buyer regarding confidentiality will not likely override a seller’s obligation to produce information to a union.
Second, employers responding to general information requests should keep in mind the following principles articulated in these cases:
- If there is a dispute over the scope of production, the employer should produce relevant information while the parties work toward an accommodation which is not presumptively relevant.
- If an employer is withholding requested information, it should explain what is being withheld and why.
- Employers asserting confidentiality should offer accommodative bargaining with the union to allow for production while accommodating the employer’s confidentiality interests.
The NLRB is determined to rescind yet another Trump Era rule, returning to the use of blocking charges by unions to delay the certification of elections. Interested parties have until February 2nd to comment on the proposed rulemaking.
The NLRB put the kibosh on a T-Mobile program that collects work complaints from its customer service representatives. The board claimed the T-Voice program qualifies as a labor organization, and that due to the set up of the system, T-Mobile dominated and assisted the program.
The Biden administration just played Santa Claus to the Teamsters, announcing a $36 billion bailout for the rickety Central States Pension Fund. Cuts of up to 60% were anticipated for the 350,000 members. Supposedly the infusion of taxpayer funds will push insolvency out to about 2051. Santa also visited the New York State Teamsters Conference Pension and Retirement Fund to the tune of another $963 million.
