Buonadonna Shoprite, 356 NLRB No. 115 (2011)

This case addressed the boundaries of an employer's Weingarten obligation.  An employee wanted to be represented by a different rep than the one who was available.  A manager wanted the employee to give a statement without his preferred rep.  The Board concluded that the employee was not entitled to the rep of his choice.  (The decision left unresolved the question of whether the employer's refusal to allow the employee to call the preferred steward during the meeting was unlawful.)

You can see Seth Borden's thoughts on the case here.

DOL's Timesheet App

The DOL put out a news release yesterday about its new timesheet app for smartphones.  I just installed the app on my phone and  so far it does seem easy to use.  I can see how it would be helpful for hourly employees, especially in industries like construction where the work is often away from a facility.

I wonder if future versions of the app could help with some of the emerging smartphone/email wage and hour issues.  For instance, you could tell your phone what numbers were work-related.  That way, when you receive a call from Boss in your free time, the app could add the minutes of the call to your timesheet.  Similarly, every time you log into your work email, or read a work text, the app could add that time (or some estimate) into your timesheet.

More on Blessed Pope John Paul II

Blessed Pope John Paul wrote 14 encyclicals.  He discussed workers and the social doctrine in three of them.

Laborem Exercens (1981)

Sollicitudo Rei Socialis (1987)


Centesimus Annus (May 1, 1997)

Beatification of Pope John Paul II, Feast Day of St. Joseph the Worker and May Day

Today the hearts of Catholics are filled with joy because Pope John Paul II was beatified earlier in Rome.  Of interest to readers of this blog, among the many things Pope John Paul II did was to write extensively about workers and the social doctrine.

Additionally, today is also  the Feast Day of St. Joseph the Worker when we celebrate Jesus' father's role as a carpenter/worker.  A comment from Catholic.org:

“The Lord God then took the man and settled him in the garden of Eden, to cultivate and care for it” (Genesis 2:15). The Father created all and asked humanity to continue the work of creation. We find our dignity in our work, in raising a family, in participating in the life of the Father’s creation. Joseph the Worker was able to help participate in the deepest mystery of creation. Pius XII emphasized this when he said, “The spirit flows to you and to all men from the heart of the God-man, Savior of the world, but certainly, no worker was ever more completely and profoundly penetrated by it than the foster father of Jesus, who lived with Him in closest intimacy and community of family life and work. Thus, if you wish to be close to Christ, we again today repeat, ‘Go to Joseph’” (see Genesis 41:44).

Today is also May Day.