Workplace Related Legal Issues

Mason Alexander, managing partner of the Charlotte office, was a guest on April 14 on South Carolina Business Review, heard on the NPR radio stations in the Palmetto State. Mason discussed various workplace-related legal issues, including potential changes in how union elections are held. Typically, union organizing elections are held at the workplace under the direction of the NLRB. In rare instances, ballots are mailed to workers. The NLRB is considering expanding those offsite ballot to the Internet. Mason said that offsite voting worries employers. "You don't know what influences may be brought to bear when that ballot is being marked." He also noted that the Employee Free Choice Act is effectively dead. And he said that social networking sites are "the new water cooler" at work. However, he pointed out that while employees have the right to talk among themselves about the circumstances where they work, when employees post negative comments about their employer on the Internet that has the potential to damage the company.