Grievance Procedure - Does Your Union Have One?

Have you ever looked through your Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA)? Have you ever filed a grievance against your employer? Did your local union or branch handle the case properly and in a clearly defined step-by-step procedure?

If you answered no to any of these questions, then you may have a problem.  It is not to say that you or your union is doing anything wrong, there may just not be a clear definition of how a member (you) should file and track a grievance with the union.

Here are some things you can do to make sure you, as the member, know that your local, branch, district or national has taken all necessary steps to ensure your grievance is managed properly. 

Ask your union rep, steward, or whomever you contact regarding union business for a detailed description of the grievance procedure. Carefully read and comprehend your grievance procedure that should be laid out in your collective bargaining agreement. When and if you ever do file a grievance, follow up with your steward or union official to ensure your case is following the proper steps to resolution.  Remember that there are typically timelines that must be met between each grievance step.  If these timelines are not met by the union or management, then your case could be in trouble of dismissal. Talk to other members of your local that have filed a grievance and find out from their experiences what went well and what they wish they would've done better.  Other people's experiences are always a fantastic resource to use to make sure you do not make mistakes that could be easily avoided.

A great tool that union officials can use within their local or branch is the Internet Grievance System (IGS).  Information can be found at http://www.griev.com/

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Part Time Employment Rights

Many people take part-time work to supplement their existing income or to allow them greater flexibility and balance other commitments. However, working part-time does not mean that you have any fewer rights than your full-time counterparts.

Although there is no strict definition for the number of hours a person must work in order to be considered a part-time worker, there is no strict definition for full-time workers either. However, as a rule of thumb, full-time workers tend to work an average of 35 hours per week. While many people consider that part-time work simply means not working the same number of hours as a full-time worker, there are various other types of part-time work available, such as job shares and term time workers.

Job shares are an arrangement where a full-time job is divided between two part-time workers. This arrangement allows employees to work around heir other commitments, whilst looking forward to a regular income. Term time work allows employees to reduce their hours or to take time off during school holidays. This is perfect for parents with children, allowing them to sort out childcare when necessary.

Although a part-time job may involve fewer hours, that does not mean that part-time employees have fewer rights. Nowhere in the Law does it state that you have to work a set number of hours in order to qualify for full employment rights. Employment rights are there to protect an employee from being exploited by unscrupulous employers. As a part-time worker, your rights are the same as a full-time worker, including:

o Being paid the minimum wage in accordance with government guidelines. o Not being looked upon less favourably when workers are selected for redundancy. o Having any career break schemes, contractual and parental leave made available in the same way as for full-time workers. o Receiving holiday entitlement pro rata to comparable full-time workers. o Not being excluded from training simply because you work part-time hours.

If you find yourself in a position where you feel your employee's rights are being abused, the first thing you should do is talk to your staff representative. If this is not possible, then you should approach your employer yourself. It is far better to attempt to settle a problem informally in the early stages; your employer may not be aware of how you feel and may be unaware that your rights are being infringed upon.

If your employer refuses to enter a dialogue with you or will not listen to your concerns, then you may be able to launch a claim for discrimination. In addition, if your employer makes you redundant as a direct result of your conversation, then you may be able to pursue a claim for unfair dismissal. In either case, the most prudent thing you can do is to seek the services of a lawyer who specialises in employment law. Your case may end up in front of an Employment Tribunal, who will assess the case on its own merits and ascertain whether or not your employer has behaved in accordance with the law. If he or she is found to have disregarded your employee's rights, then you may be liable for compensation.

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Sailors, Maritime Workers Protected By Special Laws For On-The-Job Injuries

People who get injured are very often are entitled to payment for damages and for harm done, whether involved in auto, truck, train, airplane or boat accident. In some cases, though, procedures to seek justice are vastly difference because the rules of recovery of based on totally different laws.

For several years railroad workers had specific rights under federal law to collect damages for injuries occurring while working on the job. Those rights were extended to sailors with passage in 1920 of the federal Merchant Marine Act, also known as the Jones Act (named after Sen. Wesley Jones, the Act's sponsor). Some maritime workers, not covered by the Jones Act, are protected by the Longshoreman's Act.

The Jones Act specifically allows for sailors to make claims and collect from their employers for the negligence of the ship owner, captain, or crew members. The protection applies to any one who spends 30 percent or more of their working time "in the service of a vessel on navigable waters."

While most Americans injured on the job file for workman's compensation to obtain justice, sailors instead must seek justice by filing for relief under the Jones Act. In addition to payments for damages sailors may file to cover death benefits, health care costs and lost wages associated with the injury. The benefits can be extremely higher than benefits for workers on land, if a skilled and knowledgeable attorney is involved.

Claims may injuries resulting from working on offshore rigs, tugboats, barges, tankers, cargo ships, ferries, fishing trawlers, workboats, water taxis, or for dockworker injuries or international maritime injuries. Anyone who thinks they might be covered should contact an attorney familiar with the Jones Act for advice.

The Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act, commonly known as the Longshoreman's Act, was enacted in 1929 and covers certain maritime workers including most dock workers and shipyard workers not covered by the Jones Act. Generally speaking, a worker injured who is covered by the Longshoreman's Act is entitled to temporary payment of two-thirds of his weekly wage while undergoing medical treatment and for payment of damages.

The Longshoreman's Act provides employment-injury and occupational-disease protection to some 500,000 workers who are injured or contact occupational diseases on the navigable waters or the U.S. or on ports or docks.

There are risks involved with the Longshoreman's Act. An injured worker, for instance, who quickly agrees to take the insurance adjuster's advice to "see our doctor" is legally bound to that choice, an action which often decreases the worker's chance for fair compensation. The wisest step is to consult with an attorney before signing any documents handed to you by an insurance adjustor, who is not getting paid to look after the worker's best interests.

There are many horror stories of auto and truck accident victims who give away their birthrights by signing documents flashed in front of them by insurance adjusters. The same thing is true of injured sailors, longshoremen or other maritime workers injured on the job, whether covered by the Jones Act or the Longshoreman's Act.

All injured workers must always remember that insurance companies are not your friend. If you want someone to represent your best interest that would be your attorney. There are sufficient protections for injured and killed sailors and other maritime workers so please make sure you do not give those rights away but instead receive the justice you are entitled to receive.

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Industrial Disease Claims For Black Lung Disease

Black Lung Disease occurs when a person is exposed to coal dust over an extended period of time or to extreme amounts of the dust. It irritates the sensitive tissue in the lungs and can lead to several diseases including pneumoconiosis, emphysema and chronic bronchitis. Miners and ex-miners have filed industrial disease claims for the suffering which this disease has caused them.

Pneumoconiosis There are two forms of the disease with varying levels of seriousness. Simple pneumoconiosis is not usually disabling however the complicated form of pneumoconiosis can be disabling. It can lead to medical problems including pulmonary tuberculosis or failure of the right hand side of the heart. The people most affected are over the age of 50 and worked in the coal mines before the industry slowed down in Britain. This is reflected in the profile of ex-miners who are making industrial disease claims. Smoking does not increase your chances of developing pneumoconiosis however the effects of smoking on the lungs by reducing its function can make the symptoms of pneumoconiosis worse. The symptoms of pneumoconiosis include a chronic cough and shortness of breath.

Emphysema Emphysema is part of a range of lung conditions know as 'Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease'. Although it is not only miners who are at risk from developing the disease, coal dust is a major factor in the onset of the emphysema. Other risk groups include smokers and some people can inherit it as they are born with a deficiency of a vital protein for lung function. Coal dust changes the balance of chemicals which regulate the contraction and expansion of the lungs during breathing and when this occurs the lungs lose their elasticity and the alveoli over-inflate. When the alveoli over-extend they get damaged and this is irreversible, the lungs are unable to transfer as much oxygen to the bloodstream and shortness of breath occurs. Industrial disease claims are filed because these breathing difficulties can make everyday life hard.

Chronic Bronchitis Coal dust can cause irritation to the airways and this causes them to narrow and the cilia (small hairs which pass mucus along the airways) to be paralysed. When you have chronic bronchitis you suffer from long-term mucus production which can cause coughing for long periods of time. Because the cilia have been paralysed, the mucus is not shifted out of the airways. Chronic bronchitis lasts for 2 years but if the problems persist it can turn into chronic obstructive bronchitis because the lungs get damaged and obstructed. This can then develop into emphysema.

Whereas if these diseases were caused by smoking, the symptoms may ease if the sufferer were to stop, this is not possible if coal dust is the cause. Therefore, many miners and ex-miners have filed industrial disease claims against their employers because they were not protected from the effects of the coal dust on their future health. As the mining industry slows down in the UK, we will start to see fewer and fewer of these claims however whilst people are suffering, they still have the right to seek legal justice for their medicinal problems.

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Legal Service Is There for the Mesothelioma Patient

Mesothelioma is the disease of mesothelium, though mesothelium is there to protect all body organs by covering organs as a membrane, but in common terms the mesothelioma is known as the cancer of lungs. However, the cause of the lungs cancer may be numerous, yet some common factors are like exposure to dust or dust like microscopic particles which remain suspended in the environment and naturally inhaled by human beings. These particles are not exhaled out but remain stuck to the mesothelium layer and later with its huge accumulation there, the cancer arrives.

Like all other form of cancer this cancer is very painful and costs expensive treatment. The basic difference between this cancer and other type of cancer is that the cause of cancer remain unknown in normal cases, but in mesothelioma the cause of cancer is known and could be avoided by using anti dust attires. Moreover, it could be avoided if required care and protection is availed. So, to decide whether the required protection or care was practiced or not during exposure to dust, mesothelioma attorney assistance is necessary. Availing service from a mesothelioma attorney costs nothing as the fees normally is not to be paid unless the case is won and compensation is entitled to the patient. The compensation may amount from few thousand dollars to million dollars, depending on the damage sustained, cost of treatment, period of exposure, measures taken by the company during the tenure of working etc.

The case can be filed by the patient himself or the patient's keen or anyone inheriting the patient's property etc., in simple term someone having or accruing legal interest in the patient may proceed to file mesothelioma case. But, before going to any mesothelioma attorney, it is advisable to conduct a little research in the area or over internet to find a good mesothelioma attorney. It is not still so easy to find mesothelium attorney assistance because some of the law firms work with mesothelioma as part of their business, some work exclusively with mesothelioma cases. So, prior to availing any mesothelioma attorney assistance it is better to go through the successful settlement they have made in previous cases.

As to where the case is to be filed and in which state the case has chances to end in awarding compensation, is to be decided by the mesothelioma attorney. In many situation, the attorney even may prefer to get the case settled outside court premises through process of arbitration. It is considered in many civil nature lawsuit that arbitration is a better process to solve a case successfully as the disposal is preceded by the unanimous acceptance of both the parties. However, whether continuing the lawsuit is better option or going for arbitration is wise, to be only decided by the attorney dealing with the case. It is advisable that availing mesothelioma attorney assistance is the best decision in all situation whenever the mesothelioma is diagnosed. It is always a two way profit that the concerned patient does not need to pay a penny unless and until the case ends in successful settlement. If the compensation is awarded only then a certain percentage is charged as the fees.

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Need Information About Employment Mediation?

If you've got to the stage where getting out of bed every morning has become a huge effort - not because you're living it up every night, but because you shudder to think what's going to happen at work today, then you may need to consider employment mediation. It is difficult to admit that your place of work can have created a situation that has gone out of what you can control. It can also be difficult to see whether they are in the wrong, or if you are. When money, livelihoods, and business are concerned the problems can weigh everyone down a little heavier than if it's just a simple disagreement.

When we're under stress our ability to cope with little issues can begin to reduce, which means a small problem can quickly become a large one, snowballing until it's unable to stop. It's important to take outside advice, and find out if there is a way to mediate through the problem. Most issues can be resolved by a face to face meeting of the two (or more) sides, with impartial and unstressed out parties helping everything stay calm and ordered. These meetings and discussions can help reduce court times and expensive dispute cases.

There are many reasons you might want to take legal advice in this area. If you've already been dismissed and you felt it was unfair or illegal, this is a good place to start. You need to bring all your information to the meeting. Emails, letters and documented incidents are needed for a legal case to be drawn up.

If you are still working, or have a complicated employee, then employment mediation can avoid it getting even to this stage. Some employers bring in a legal team if redundancies are likely to help stem the flow of the problems and to help mediate people through the entire process. This can help people feel a lot happier about the changes during a difficult time.

It's also one of the best ways to deal with workplace bullying as it brings everything to a head, and allows the bully to know others are aware of the problem. This alone can sometimes help the situation.

The important thing to do is to seek help from an expert who is skilled in employment mediation. They need to be able to help you work out what you can argue for, and what things will be disallowed, and help you to find a resolution through the mess. You want to start enjoying getting up for work again.

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