Human Resources

Union Membership in Manufacturing Continued to Decline in 2020

Union membership and representation within U.S. manufacturing continued to decline last year, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). In 2020, the share of union employees in manufacturing dropped to 8.5%, compared to nearly 15% two decades earlier.

See all BLS’ data for the manufacturing sector, including statistics pertaining to earnings, benefits, injuries, and productivity. 7/6/2021

Biden Nominates Prominent Union Attorney for NLRB Seat

President Joe Biden recently nominated longtime union attorney David Prouty to fill a not-yet-vacated seat on the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). Prouty is general counsel for Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 32BJ, the New York-based local that represents more than 175,000 service workers on the East Coast.

This is the second union attorney Biden has picked for the NLRB. Democrats are poised to hold a 3-2 NLRB majority as early as September. 7/8/2021

Webinar: Protecting Employees From Workplace Violence

Knowing how to handle workplace violence before a situation arises can help keep your employees and business safe. At noon on July 21, OMA Connections Partner Dinsmore will conduct a free webinar covering measures you can take to prevent and react to workplace violence, including what to do during and after a situation arises. 7/6/2021

10 Ways to Motivate Employees

In April of 2021, nearly four million Americans quit their jobs, elevating the “quit rate” to its highest level since the U.S. Labor Department started measuring in 2000. To help employers retain workers, EHS Today has published this short list of ideas to help motivate employees to stick around for the long term. 7/5/2021

Ohio’s Initial Jobless Claims Increase; Continued Claims Drop

Ohioans filed 10,900 initial claims for unemployment benefits last week, according to the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services. This represents a 4% increase from the previous week. Meanwhile, there were 173,803 continued jobless claims filed last week, down 4% from the week before.

At last check, Ohio’s labor force participation rate was 59.9%, while the unemployment rate was 5%. (Here’s a county-by-county look at unemployment rates.) 7/8/2021

Budget Clarifies Employer Rights on Employee Use of Medical Marijuana

Ohio’s new state budget allows employers to discipline or terminate workers who use medical marijuana in violation of workplace policy without violating the Ohio Civil Rights Law. The budget expressly provides that an employer does not violate state law when the employer takes an adverse employment action against a person who uses medical marijuana in conflict with a workplace policy. 6/30/2021

Ohio’s Employment Indicators Weakened in May

Employment data released this week showed Ohio’s unemployment rate jumped to 5% during the month of May, up from 4.7% in April. (Fortunately, there were fewer initial and continued claims last week compared to the week before — but still more than 450,000 claims statewide.) Ohio’s labor force participation rate fell last month.

This weekend, on June 27, Ohio ends its participation in federal government’s supplemental unemployment payment program. The Ohio Department of Job and Family Services continues to ask employers to report individuals who are receiving unemployment benefits but refusing offers of work without good cause. 6/21/2021

Webinar Will Examine Post-COVID-19 Workplace Policies

OMA Connections Partner Frantz Ward will host a free webinar Wednesday, June 30 to help employers evaluate their workplace policies and procedures in the post-COVID-19 environment. It’s the latest installment of the firm’s labor and employment webinar series. Learn more and register. 6/23/2021

Even Pre-Pandemic, 81% of Manufacturers Provided Paid Sick Leave

New information from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) shows that a large majority of U.S. workers had access to paid sick leave even before Congress passed the Families First Coronavirus Response Act. In March 2020, 81% of all manufacturing workers had access to paid sick leave. And once other types of paid leave were included, the access rate increased to 97%.

Across all industries, employees at establishments with one to https://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2021/article/employee-access-to-sick-leave.htm49 workers and 50 to 99 workers were offered an average of six days of sick leave per year; employees at firms with 100 to 499 workers, an average of seven days; and employees at firms with 500 or more workers, an average of eight days. 6/15/2021

Soliciting Mail Ballots Is Objectionable Conduct, NLRB Rules

OMA Connections Partner Vorys reports that in a rare demonstration of bipartisanship, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has unanimously voted that a solicitation of mail ballots during a union election campaign constitutes objectionable conduct. (In this case, employees received phone calls from union agents who offered to collect their mail ballots.)

The case is of interest to employers considering proposed federal legislation (the PRO Act) that favors and promotes union organizing, as well as the number of union elections that are being conducted by mail. The NLRB’s decision will be a critical one for labor professionals on both the union and management sides, Vorys says. 6/15/2021