Term Paper on "Labor Relations Legal Interpretations of Labor Laws"

Term Paper 4 pages (1048 words) Sources: 2

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Labor Relations

Legal Interpretations of Labor Laws

The Labor-Management Relations Act, first enacted in the late 1940s and amended several times since, provides a framework for the legal rights and responsibilities of employers and employees that come under the purview of the National Labor Relations Board, including any business that engages in interstate commerce and most other larger companies, as well. It would seem, then, that deciding labor disputes would be a relatively simple process; one would need only to consult the law as written in order to make a determination of the specific rights held by each party, any wrongs committed, and the legal means of redressing those wrongs. In reality, of course, things are not so simple, and interpreting the law can be a highly complex and fairly difficult issue requiring in-depth analysis and ultimately a certain level of well-reasoned yet subjective determination and decision-making.

The Great Temperature Debate

In one scenario, two employees were terminated after leaving work in a direct and planned effort to protest their working conditions. These workers had faced levels of uncomfortable cold while at their workstations, which were closer to an open door than other workstations. A rule had been established regarding the temperature and the door's position, with the door being closed only when the temperature in the entire workroom had dropped below sixty-eight degrees. Despite a central temperature of seventy-two degrees, the two workers nearest the door complained of cold, and when no action was taken they purposefully failed to return to work after lunch.


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