The National Labor Relations Act and health care institutions: the persistent paradox.

In the wake of 1974 amendments to the NLRA, nonprofit health care institutions have been involved in a steady stream of labor relations cases. This article examines some of the new labor relations problems facing these institutions, and it provides valuable information and analysis to help administrators keep abreast of the legal and practical developments stemming from the cases.     

Health Care Institution Amendments to the National Labor Relations Act: an analysis.

Ira M. Shepard, J.D. herein analyzes the legislative history and the substantive provisions of the 1974 Health Care Institution Amendments to the National Labor Relations Act. The Amendments bring private, non-profit health care institutions and their employees under the coverage of the NLRA, the goal of Congress being to reach a successful compromise of the public's right to receive uninterrupted health care; the health care institution's obligation to provide these services to the fullest extent possible; and the right of health care employees to have the same voice in the determination of their wages, hours, and working conditions accorded other workers under the NLRA.     

The Labor Reform Act of 1977: a detailed analysis.

As a former General Counsel of the NLRB, Peter Nash enjoyed a vantage point from which to observe the procedures of the Board and evaluate how the provisions of the NLRA itself operated. Nou in private practice, he has made a detailed analysis of the labor reform legislation pending in Congress and strongly supported by organized labor. Writing from management's point of view, Mr. Nash concludes that the bills now pending are designed solely to assist unions in their organizing efforts; will not expedite the processing of Board cases; and contain harsh, unfair, and unnecessary deterrent remedies against employers.     

《劳动合同法》地方指导意见评述——关于劳动争议当事人和劳动关系的认定

各地法院和仲裁机构在《劳动合同法》实施后尤其是在全球性金融危机期间出台了各自的司法意见,对《劳动合同法》的相关条文进行了细化和补充,弥补了《劳动合同法》的不足和立法盲点。但是,也存在相当一些有悖于法理和立法法的解释误区,带来了各地司法不统一的混乱。如何认定劳动争议当事人和劳动关系是其中的重要部分,包括不具备合法经营资格及借用营业执照或挂靠的用人单位的用工关系、个人承包经营形成的用工关系、下岗、内退职工与新用人单位建立的关系、招用已达到法定退休年龄的人员所形成的关系以及未签订书面合同的劳动关系适用《劳动合同法》的问题等。因此,应当对地方性司法指导文件进行全面清理,吸收借鉴其合理之处,阐释其存在的误区,并在此基础上完善《劳动合同法》。     

An 'enlightened' view of employee committees under the Taft-Hartley Act

The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals recently ruled, in NLRB v. Streamway Division of the Scott and Fetzer Co., that an in-plant representation committee, unilaterally established by the employer, was not a labor organization. Until 1959, when the Supreme Court decided NLRB v. Cabot Carbon. "labor organization" was narrowly construed, based on the traditional adversary model of labor relations. With Cabot Carbon, and some later Board decisions, the definition has broadened. Now, at a time when many employers are turning to employee committees, quality circles, etc., as ways of improving relations with employees, the Streamway decision takes on particular significance. In the following article, the author examines the statutory basis for determining whether an employee committee is a labor organization, within the meaning of the National Labor Relations Act. He also discusses the judicial and Board precedent for the more liberal definition of "labor organization" set forth in Streamway.     

Fifty years on: against the stigmatising myths, taboos and traditions embedded within the Suicide Act 1961 (UK)

Although assisted suicide carries a maximum of 14 years imprisonment in England, courts and juries have historically demonstrated a reluctance to convict, most specifically in relation to those travelling abroad to accompany a terminally ill person seeking assisted dying. The possibility of prosecution is still present, however, and there have recently been a number of challenges to the law on assisted dying. During the consultation period of the Coroners and Justice Act 2009 (UK) an amendment was proposed that would have legalised, among other things, assisting suicide overseas. However, it was voted down by peers who believed it to be dangerously radical. In 2008 a multiple sclerosis sufferer requested a clear policy statement, should her partner help her to seek assisted dying abroad in the future. After her application was initially rejected, Mrs Purdy was granted leave to appeal and following a favourable ruling by the House of Lords in 2009, the Director of Public Prosecutions clarified the law on assisted suicide, introducing a Full Code Test which includes the consideration of "public interest factors". Although the new guidelines are not a direct threat to the 50-year-old Suicide Act 1961 (UK), it is clearly an historic development: the latest in a series of high-profile cases and debates which have taken place over the last decade. It is suggested that English law on assisted dying continues to rely on a range of inappropriate concepts, taboos and superstitions, and it is from this perspective that the implications for future legislative reform are addressed.     

Fifty years of organ transplants: the successes and the failures

More than fifty years have now passed since the first successful human organ transplant. During that time, substantial progress has been made in both surgical techniques and immunosuppressive drug therapy. As a result, transplant success rates have improved dramatically, and thousands of recipients of kidneys, hearts, livers, and lungs have been granted both longer and healthier lives. At the same time, however, many more thousands of patients have died while waiting in vain for a cadaveric donor organ to become available due to a severe and persistent shortage of such organs. That shortage, in turn, is directly attributable to the National Organ Transplant Act of 1984, which proscribes payment to potential organ donors, even if that would increase supply. This atavistic policy and the shortage and deaths it has spawned provides a stirring example of the tendency for public policy to lag behind technological advancement, particularly in the medical field. But the tide of medical opinion may be turning on this issue, and some form of donor payments may soon emerge.