Employee and Labor Relations
Employee and labor relations items separate union and non-union settings less than candidates expect. Section 7 of the NLRA protects concerted activity for union and non-union employees alike, including discussing wages and working conditions. Work rules that ban pay discussions, impose blanket confidentiality on investigations, or chill organizing are vulnerable; under Stericycle, the question is whether a rule has a reasonable tendency to chill Section 7 rights, and the employer must show a legitimate and substantial justification for any rule that does.
In union settings, know the unfair labor practices on both sides, the election process, Weingarten rights (a union employee may request representation during an investigatory interview that could lead to discipline), and the duty to bargain in good faith over mandatory subjects. California public-sector bargaining is governed by separate statutes: MMBA for local government, EERA for schools, the Dills Act for state employees, and HEERA for higher education.
Non-union discipline rests on at-will employment, limited by implied contract, the covenant of good faith, and statutory protections. Whistleblower claims under Labor Code 1102.5 use burden-shifting: the employee shows a protected disclosure plus an adverse action, then the employer must show a legitimate, independent reason. SB 497 adds a rebuttable presumption of retaliation when the adverse action occurs within 45 days of the protected activity.
Trap: assuming an at-will employee can be disciplined for discussing working conditions, or that a 'no gossip' handbook rule is harmless.
Rule of thumb: before recommending discipline, ask whether the employee engaged in protected activity, then document the legitimate business reason contemporaneously.