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Employment & Labor Glossary > > >  General Legal   ADA    Franchise    Class Action    Banking & Financial    Business    Corporate    Entertainment    Intellectual Property    Internet    Litigation    Real Estate    A  |   B  |   C  |   D  |   E  |   F  |   G  |   H  |   I  |   J  |   K  |   L  |   M  |   N  |   O  |   P  |   Q-R  |   S  |   T  |   U-V  |   W-Z  |   A Abeyance: The condition of being undetermined, to be taken up and processed later. Ad Hoc: A Latin phrase meaning "for this," as in for this special purpose. Administrative Law Judge: Official who conducts hearings and makes recommendations to the NLRB or other government agency. Affidavit: A written or printed declaration or statement of facts. Alter Ego: A Latin phrase meaning another self. Amicus Curiae: A Latin phrase meanding a friend of the court. Animus, Anti-Union: Anti-Union animus is the official term for anti-union sentiments that may affect various management actions. Arbitrary: A phrase describing an action or decision which is made without cause or without consideration. Arbitration: A method of settling a labor-management dispute by having an impartial third party hold a formal hearing. Arraign: to bring a prisoner to court to answer the charge made against him or her. Back to Top B Bargaining Unit: Which employees are to be represented if the union wins a representation election and who may vote in the election are initially proposed by the union starting the campaign. Blacklist: A list of names or persons or firms to be discriminated against, either in patronage or employment. Bona Fide: A Latin phrase meaning "good faith." Boycott: the refusal to deal with, buy, supply or handle the products of a business as a means of exerting pressure in a labor dispute. Bumping: A contractual right whereby employees scheduled for layoff are permitted to displace less senior employees in other jobs for which they are qualified. Back to Top C Capricious: A phrase describing an action or decision which is made without cause. Checkoff: An arrangement under which an employer deducts from the pay of employees the amount of union dues they owe and turns over the proceeds directly to the treasurer of the union. Class Action: A lawsuit in which the plaintiffs proceed not only on their own behalf, but on the behalf of all others similarly situated. Coercion: Economic or other pressure exerted by an employer to prevent the free exercise by employees of their right to self-organization and collective bargaining. Color of Law: the appearance of semblance, without the substance, of legal right. Common Law: the body of laws and legal principles derived from English legal history that was accepted and served as the framework of American law. Concerted Activity: Action taken by an employee or employees in order to improve their working conditions or benefits. Consent Agreement: In an organizing campaign, this is an agreement between the employer and the union that they will be bound by the decision of the NLRB's Regional Director and waive the right to appeal. Consent Decree: An agreement worked out under the guidance and with the help of the NLRB, and has the affect of a court order for both parties. Conspiracy: An agreement between two or more people to commit a crime. Contingency Fee: An arrangement made with a lawyer who thereby agrees not to require any fees or retainer, but will take payment from the client only if and when a settlement or award is received. Contract-Bar Rules: Rules applied by the labor board which prevent or bar a union representation election for a period of time during which an existing contract between a union and the employer is in effect. Back to Top D Damages: Cash whichmay be recovered in the courts by any person who has suffered a loss or injury as a result of another's unlawful or negligent act or omission. De Minimis: Short for the Latin phrase, de minimis non curat lex, which means the law does not concern itself with trifles. De Novo: Latin for anew or afresh. Decertification: The withdrawal by the labor board of a union's designation as exclusive representative usually as a result of the loss of an election. Defamation: Injury to a person's character, fame or reputation, by false and malicious statements. Double-Breasted: An employer who runs two operations, only one of which is unionized. Double Jeopardy: A principle of constitutional justice that prohibits imposing two or more punishments for the same offense. Due Process: The consitutional guarantee that no person shall be deprived of his life, liberty or property without due process of law. Back to Top E Excelsior List: The list of current employees whose names and addresses the employer is obligated to provide the labor board after a representative election has been scheduled. Executive Order: An order issued by the US President which has the force and affect of law. Back to Top F Featherbedding: Controversial practices which tend to limit productivity and create an increased deman for workers, such as demanding payment for work no longer performed by workers because of automation and robotification. Fiduciary Obligation: The obligation or trust imposted by law on officials of an organization making them liable for the proper use and disbursement of the organization's money, funds, and property. Free Riders: A term used by unions to designate non-members within the bargaining unit who obtain, without cost, the benefits of a contract/MOU gained through the efforts of the dues-paying members. Front Pay: A remedy sometimes awarded by the courts to victims of discrimination where it is impractical to order reinstate-ment. Back to Top G Good Faith Bargaining: A legal requirement arising out of Section (8) of the National Labor Relations Act on both the Union and employer. Grandfather: An exception provided in a cotract article that either exempts or continues a prior benefit to those covered employees who were employed prior to the negotiation of that article. Grievance: A formal complaint usually lodged by an employee or the union alleging a misinterpretation or improper applicatoin of one or more terms in a collective bargaining contract/MOU. Back to Top H Hot Cargo: goods or products that come from a plant or production facility where there is a labor dispute in progress. Hostile Environment: Continuous, low level discriminatory remarks or behaviors that cumulatively 'poison' the workplace for the aggrieved victim enough to alter the terms, conditions, or privileges of the workplace. Back to Top I Indictment: A document prepared by the District or Prosecuting Attorney and approved by the grand jury which charges a person with the commission of a crime. Injunction: An order of a court or agency requiring a person to do or not to do something. Interest Arbitration: The arbitrator, instead of interpreting and applying the terms of an agreement, is authorized to determine what provisions the parties are to have in their collective bargaining agreement. Back to Top J Judicial Review: A case brought before a court to determine if the decisions made by a labor board or other government agency are legal. Jurisdiction: The boudaries or kuleana of a union's reresentation as determined usually by the type of work an employee performs. Just Cause: A due process provision commonly negotiated into a collective bargaining agreement that requires the employer to demonstrate proof of employee's guilt before taking disciplinary actions. Back to Top K Back to Top L Liquidated Damages: A court award available under some laws where the employer's violation was either willful or in reckless regard for the law. Lockout: Shutdown of a worksite by the employer to discourage union membership or activity or to force employees to meet the demands or economic terms of the employer. Back to Top M Mediation: The attempt by an impartial third party, called a mediator, to bring the parties in a dispute together and assist them in reaching settlement. Back to Top N Norris-Thermadore Rule: where the union and the employer sign a written eligibility agreement. Back to Top O Open Shop: A bargaining unit in a company or workplace at which the workers are not required to pay the union dues. Back to Top P Past Practice: A particular working condition, benefit or custom that has been in existence and deeply ingrained over a period of time such that it is regarded as a part of the whole agreement. Pie Car Members: Old union slang and term of contempt to describe people for whom the union card was just a source of income and who did not actually believe in union principles. Plaintiff: The one who sues. Precedent: an adjudged case or decision of a court of justice, considered as furnishing an example or authority for an identical or similar case arising later. Preemption: The right of one law over another in circumstances where the rights or remedies of the one law conflict with the other. Preponderance: A greater wight of evidence, or evidence which is more believable and convincing in comparison. Presumption: An advantage of proof legally accorded to one side in a suit or trial that in the absence of any evidence or without convincing evidence to the contrary that party's argument is accepted as true. Pretext: A legal excuse to do something which otherwise would be illegal. Prima Facie Case: A Latin expression meaning "at first appearance." Pro Bono: A Latin phrase meaning "for the good." Pro Se: A Latin phrase meaning "for oneself." Protected Class: Anti-discrimination laws only regard unequal or unfair treatment as unlawful discrimination when the victim is a member of a defined group known as a protected class. Punitive Damages: A monetary award made by the court that goes beyond simple reimbursement for losses suffered and, in the manner of a fine, assesses the defendant an amount of cash designed to punish the defendant. Back to Top Q-R Quid Pro Quo: A Latin phrase meaning literally, "What for what." Describes an implied or expressed expectation. Racketeering: Formerly, an organized conspiracy to commit the crimes of extortion or coercion. Rank and File: The membership of a union or similar organization as distinct from the organization's leadership, officers and/or staff. Recognition: The employer's acknowledgement of a union as the exclusive bargaining agent for the employees, given either voluntarily upon evidence of an employee petition, or by legal requirement. Retrenchment: Adoption of a smaller scale of operations in an organization, often resulting in layoffs as part of the effort to reduce the work force. Rights Arbitration: The appeal of an unresolved grievance to an impartial arbitrator for final and binding determination. Back to Top S Scab: A union term generally applied to a worker who refuses to join coworders in a strike. Secondary Boycott: A boycott or the picketing by employees and/or a union of a business not directly involved in a labor dispute for the purposes of bringing pressure to bear on the business of an employer who is. Solicitation: Asking; selling. Statue of Limitations: The provisions in any law or laws that limits the time when a plaintiff can bring suit. Stipulation: An agreement between the parties to mutually accept some facts or evidence as true and undisputed. Stipulation or Certification: In an organizing campaign, this is an agreement between the union and the employer. Subpoena: A process document issued out of court requiring a witness to attend. Substantial Evidence: A considerable weight of relevant evidence that a reasonable mind would accept it adequate to support a conclusion. Back to Top T Tort: A wrongful act that violates a person's private or civil rights and creates a liability under which the victim of the violation may sue the person. Twenty Four Hour Rule: Employers and unions are prohibited from making elected speeches on company time to massed assemblies of employees within 24 hours before the scheduled time for conducting an election. Back to Top U-V Union Shop: A bargaining unit in a company or workplace in which all the workers whom the union is legally required to represent must either pay the union dues or a service fee for its representation. Verbal: Communication using words. Vesting: A contractual right by which an employee, after a designated period of employment, is entitled to the pension benefits earned once his/her service is terminated. Back to Top W-Z Waiver: The intentional (knowing) and voluntary relinquishment of a known right. Wildcat Strike: A spontaneously organized strike triggered by an incident on the job. Without Prejudice: Used when a case or grievance is being dismissed this phrase means that the right or privilege of the complaintant to sue again on the same cause of action is not lost or waived. Writ: A process of a court ordering a public officer or a private person to do a certain act. Back to Top

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