A recent article from Nation’s Restaurant News has caught our attention. The article reports that Jimmy John’s operator MikLin was found guilty by the National Labor Relations Board. “Administrative law judge Arthur Amchan ruled Friday that MikLin violated the National Labor Relations Act by firing six employees and issuing written warnings to three others” (NRN).
MikLin had committed unfair labor practices against members of Jimmy John’s Workers Union, most of which were his employees. MikLin fired his employees for taking sick leave. These disgruntled ex-employees created posters to call attention to MikLin’s sick-leave policy.
Here is the poster they created:
The posters were helpful during the case because, “the posters were sufficiently connected to a labor dispute, and thus protected by the act. Not only were the posters connected to the issue of paid sick leave, the NLRB noted, but they also did not stray from the truth so egregiously as to lose the act’s protection (NRN).” The case concluded and MikLin had to reinstate the six fired workers as well as pay them for their sick leave.
This article really made us wish MikLin had called us before this HR nightmare happened. We could have helped him make sure he had the coverage he needed, tracked his employee absences, and cut down his labor costs. Unfortunately, the route he took was unhygienic for his customers and turned into a legal HR nightmare. His business’ reputation and the corporate reputation may take years to recover.
Violating labor laws can have many consequences, TimeForge can help prevent your business from facing an expensive lawsuit. Employers can manage employee leave with TimeForge Human Resources. TimeForge HR automatically calculates Paid Time Off, Sick Leave, Vacation Time and other eligible leave based on the guidelines you set up. Try TimeForge for free today!
