Successfully Navigating Successorship

In: Management report for nonunion organizations, Volume 44, Issue 1, p. 8-8

Abstract

A full understanding of the legal doctrine of successorship under the labor law sometimes eludes even the most seasoned labor professionals. It can be a particularly nasty trap for the unwary union‐free employer who purchases a unionized business. In such situations, generally speaking, a buyer who continues the same operations and hires a majority of its employees from the seller's workforce must recognize the union that represented the seller's employees. In limited circumstances, a buyer may be able to establish initial terms and conditions of employment that differ from those of the seller. However, absent careful navigation of this area of the law, missteps can result in unlawful unilateral changes to employment. The unsuspecting buyer can also face liability for discrimination against union employees who resigned their employment in light of the buyer's failure to abide by successorship law, as was the case in Zeigler North Riverside, LLC, 370 NLRB No. 41 (2020).