Know your rights!

One  of the many benefits you receive as a union member is protection from  coercive interrogation. In a 1975 case, the U.S. Supreme Court  established what are known as Weingarten Rights for all employees  represented by unions. As a result of this decision, you are entitled to  have a union representative present when management calls you in for an  investigative interview. An investigative interview is a meeting where  management questions an employee to obtain information and the employee  has a reasonable belief that he or she will be disciplined or fired as a  result. You can ask for your union representative at any time before or  during the investigatory interview. When you invoke your Weingarten  rights, the employer must either grant the request and delay questioning  until the union representative arrives or deny the request and end the  meeting immediately. Once your representative arrives, you are entitled  to consult with him or her privately before management starts asking  questions. Your union representative can then object to intimidation  tactics or confusing questions.

If management denies your request  and continues with the meeting, you should immediately write down that  your Weingarten rights were denied. It is a good idea to bring writing  materials to any meeting, just in case you need to make a record. Do not lose  your temper or refuse to answer any of management’s questions. Politely  explain that you feel uncomfortable and would really prefer to have a  union steward present. If management tells you the union representative  is unavailable, ask them to reschedule the meeting until you’ve had a  chance to meet with your representative. If your requests are not  granted, proceed carefully. Answer all of the questions truthfully and  write everything down. After the meeting, contact your union  representative as soon as possible and give him or her a copy of your  notes from the meeting.

Weingarten rights only apply to union  members covered under the National Labor Relations Act and to federal  employees under the Federal Service Labor-Management Relations Statute.  Railway and airline employees are covered by the Railway Labor Act and  therefore do not have Weingarten rights. Other non-union employees may  ask to have a coworker present at an investigatory interview and they  cannot be punished for the request. However, the employer is under no  obligation to grant it.

Steps to invoke your Weingarten Rights:

1. When called into a meeting, always ask the administrator about the purpose of the meeting.  If you believe that it is an investigatory meeting that could lead to disciplinary action against you, ask for union representation (Weingarten Rights). The meeting should not be held until you can reasonably arrange to have representation at the meeting.
2. If you are in a meeting with an administrator(s), you have a right to union representation at any point during the meeting when you believe that the matters being discussed are investigatory in nature and might  lead to disciplinary action against you.  The meeting should be  suspended until you have reasonable time to arrange for union  representation. The  employer can do one of three things:  (1) Delay the investigation until  you get a union representative (though not necessarily the exact  representative that you want if another one is more readily available).  (2) Deny your request and announce disciplinary action without  conducting the meeting. (3) Deny your request for union representation.   
3. If  the administrator refuses to grant your request for union  representation, do not walk out of the meeting as that might be grounds  for a charge of insubordination.  Ask why the employer is refusing your  request for a representative.  Listen but say as little possible.   If a question is directed at you, repeat you request for union  representation.  Contact you union representative immediately after the  meeting.

Use the Weingarten Rights Statement below to invoke your right to union representation:

“If  this discussion could lead in any way to my being disciplined or  terminated, or affect my personal working conditions, I respectfully  request that a union representative be present at the meeting.  Without  representation, I choose not to answer any questions.”

As  an employee, you are covered by Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of  1964, which protects you from discrimination and harassment in the  workplace. If you think your employer has discriminated against you,  treated you unfairly, or harassed you because of your race, color, ethnicity or national origin, religion, sex, pregnancy, disability, age, or genetic information,  you should voice your concerns to your local union steward or another  union representative. They can help you decide whether it’s best to  utilize the union’s internal grievance system or to file a charge with  the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and they can help guide you  through the process.

While discrimination based on sexual  orientation is not prohibited under Title VII or other federal law,  currently 21 states and the District of Columbia have employment  discrimination statutes that prohibit discrimination on that basis. For  additional information on these state laws as well as a list of cities  and counties with ordinances that prohibit employment discrimination on  the basis of gender identity, click here.

If  your employer makes more than $500,000 a year in annual sales or is  engaged in interstate commerce, you are covered by the Fair Labor  Standards Act (FLSA). The Act establishes wage and hour laws, and since  most employers are engaged in interstate commerce, you are probably  covered by the FLSA.

Under the Act, if you work more than 40 hours  a week your employer is required to pay you time-and-a-half for every  additional hour you work. The Act also establishes a federal minimum  wage, which is currently set at $11.00 an hour. Many states have passed  laws setting a higher minimum wage, and employers in those states must  abide by the higher rate. To learn more about the minimum wage rate in  your state, please click here. If you are an employee who works for tips, federal law requires your employer to pay you at least $2.13 an hour in base pay.

Some  types of employees are automatically excluded under the FLSA and  therefore they are not subject to the federal minimum wage or overtime  pay requirements. These groups include agricultural workers, executive,  administrative and professional employees (including teachers),  employees of some small newspapers, fishermen, domestic workers,  railroad employees, home healthcare workers, movie theater employees,  taxi drivers and others. To determine whether you are covered under the  FLSA, check out the U.S. Department of Labor’s online survey.

The  Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division is in charge of enforcing  the FLSA. If you think your employer has violated the Act, please  contact your union steward right away. He or she can help you use the  union’s internal grievance process to ensure that your employer complies  with the law.

For more information on the FLSA, please check out the Department of Labor’s “Handy Reference Guide to the Fair Labor Standards Act.” To listen to a podcast discussing the Fair Labor Standards Act, visit this fun website.

The  Family and Medical Leave Act allows all covered employees to take up to  12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave within a 12-month period for  specified family and medical reasons. In addition, covered employees are  entitled to 26 weeks of job-protected leave to care for a servicemember  with a serious injury or illness. Qualifying family and medical reasons  include the birth and care of your child, caring for an immediate  family member with a serious health condition, instances where you are  unable to work because of a serious health condition, and circumstances  that arise when your immediate family member is on active duty or is  called to active duty as a member of the National Guard or Reserves. The  act applies to all public agencies (including local and federal  employers), schools and private-sector employers who have employed 50 or  more employees within a 20 week period in the current or preceding  calendar year. In order to be eligible for FMLA benefits, you must have  worked for your covered employer for at least 12 months, worked at least  1,250 hours over the previous 12 months, and worked in a location where  there are at least 50 coworkers employed within 75 miles.

When  returning from FMLA leave, your employer is obligated to restore you to  your original job or an equivalent job with the same pay, benefits, and  other conditions of employment. Leave taken under the Act also cannot  count against you for purposes of a “no fault” attendance policy.

If  the need for leave is foreseeable, you must notify your employer 30  days before the leave starts and must comply with your employer’s usual  procedural requirements for requesting leave. If the circumstances  necessitating your leave are unforeseeable, you must notify your  employer as soon as is practicable.

The Department of Labor’s Wage  and Hour Division enforces the FMLA by investigating workers’  complaints. If you believe you are entitled to leave under the Act but  your employer has denied your request or counted the leave against you,  please contact your union steward right away. He or she can work with  your employer to resolve the problem or can help you file a complaint  with the Wage and Hour Division.

To learn more about the types of family and medical reasons that make you eligible for leave under the Act, please click here.  A new amendment to the Act provides different standards for flight crew  workers. If you are a flight attendant or a member of a flight crew,  please click here.

Disability  discrimination occurs when a covered employer treats an employee or job  applicant unfavorably because he or she has a disability, a history of  disability or a substantial physical or mental impairment.

The  Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) makes it unlawful for a state or  local government or a private employer with at least 15 employees to  discriminate against an individual with a disability who is qualified  for the position. This same prohibition applies to the federal  government under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. Discrimination is  prohibited for purposes of hiring, advancement, discharge, compensation,  job training and all other terms and conditions of employment.

The  law requires employers to provide reasonable accommodations for  employees or applicants with disabilities, unless doing so would cause  an “undue hardship” to the employer. According to federal regulations,  an accommodation is “any change in the work environment or in the way  things are customarily done that enables an individual with a disability  to enjoy equal employment opportunities.” Examples of reasonable  accommodations include making the workplace wheelchair accessible or  providing a reader or interpreter for an employee who is deaf or hard of  hearing or blind or vision impaired. Reallocating a marginal job  function to another worker because an employee with a disability is  unable to perform the function is also considered a reasonable  accommodation. Under the ADA, “undue hardship” means an action that  would cause the employer significant difficulty or expense in light the  employer’s size, financial resources, and business needs. While an  employer may not refuse to provide an accommodation because it requires  some cost, the employer is also not required to provide the exact  accommodation the employee or applicant asks for if there is another  accommodation that will work, instead.

In order to be protected  under the ADA and the Rehabilitation Act, you must be qualified for the  job in question and have a disability as defined by law. You are covered  if you meet one of the three following criteria:

• You have a  physical or mental condition that substantially limits one or more major  life activities (such as breathing, learning, seeing, hearing,  speaking, or taking care of yourself);
• You have a history of a disability (such as cancer that is in remission); or
• You  are regarded by others as having a physical or mental impairment that  is neither short-term nor minor (even if you do not actually have an  impairment).

The ADA does not cover employees currently  using illegal drugs, but it may protect a recovered drug addict who is  qualified for the position in question and could otherwise be considered  disabled. It may also protect an alcoholic if he or she is considered  disabled under federal law. Employers may hold employees or applicants  who are alcoholics or who use illegal drugs to the same performance  standards as all other employees. For additional information about  performance and conduct standards under the ADA, please click here.

An  employer is not required to violate the terms of its collective  bargaining agreement with a union in order to accommodate a disabled  employee. This means that the ADA does not override seniority systems  and placement provisions that the union has gained through bargaining.  However, accommodations are required where the employee or applicant’s  need can be reconciled with the terms of the union contract in place.

Courts  have held that the ADA also prohibits harassment on the basis of  disability. While the law does not prohibit a random offensive remark or  an isolated incident of teasing, the comments or conduct become  actionable when they occur so frequently or are so severe that they  create a hostile working environment.

If you think you are being  harassed or discriminated against because of a disability, you should  contact your union steward right away. He or she can speak with your  employer to find ways to stop the harassment and/or develop sufficient  accommodations. Your steward can also guide you through the union’s  internal grievance process or help you file a discrimination charge with  the EEOC.

Source: What Can the Union Do For Employees Represented by the Union?