Workers' Rights

A union member’s rights are not limited solely to what is bargained into the employment agreement. There are several statutory acts, both State and Federal, which provide employees with additional benefits, or the ability to require bargaining over additional benefits.

In Pennsylvania, labor disputes over any term and condition of employment that is not already bargained into the parties’ employment agreement are subject to the jurisdiction of the Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board. The Board and its Hearing Examiners resolve disputes under both the Pennsylvania Labor Relations Act and the Public Employee Relations Act. The Board receives charges of unfair labor practices from the employee unions, issues complaints thereon, and conducts evidentiary hearings to determine whether the employer took unilateral action on an employment benefit without first bargaining with the union, in violation of those Acts. The Board also handles related labor matters, such as the creation of bargaining units and recognition of exclusive bargaining representatives, disputes over anti-union animus, and protection of individual employee rights against certain types of employer discrimination. Like arbitration, the Decisions and Orders of the Board are appealable to the courts. 

Other governmental agencies exist to provide and protect employee benefits, including, but not limited to: the Municipal Police Officers' Education & Training Commission (a state agency that establishes and oversees training and certification standards for municipal police officers); the Pennsylvania Bureau of Unemployment Compensation (which adjudicates disputes over entitlement to unemployment compensation benefits); the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission (which enforces state laws that prohibit discrimination); and the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (which enforces laws that make discrimination illegal in the workplace).

Our staff has considerable knowledge and experience in assisting employees with the enforcement of their rights before all of these agencies.