Apr 8, 2009

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Labor and Employment Law Advice Vigorously Sought by Employers

The Wall Street Journal has a story today about the boom in workplace legal advice spawned by recently enacted and pending legislation in the labor and employment law arena.  Of particular interest to employers is advice on legally preventing union organization due to the Employee Free Choice act looming in Congress currently.

The article points out that labor lawyers are using EFCA to their advantage:

Labor consultants and lawyers are looking to profit from interest in the Free Choice Act by briefing companies large and small on a range of matters such as complying with current and recently enacted legislation, and how to detect union organizing and prevent it without breaking the law. Another pressing issue is whether companies have opened themselves to union organizing drives because they have cut jobs, pay or benefits to weather the economic slump.

Now the question is: if the Free Choice Act falls apart like it seems it might, or gets negotiated into a watered-down shell of its former self, will the offshoot work dry up, too?  Or worse – will clients, having just spent precious money on EFCA training (or as the AFL-CIO calls it, “fear mongering ” to sell “products”), feel squeezed and back off?

To be sure, EFCA will mean across-the-board changes for most companies’ labor policies, and it should be given the weight it deserves.  But if the economy has taught us anything, it’s the need to balance consumers’ emotions with their actual needs.

99% of clients seeking L&E work out of fear probably do need help, many more than they realize.  It’s our job as their lawyers to get it to them without exploiting their fears.