Video [7 min]: NLRB Orders CNN to Pay $76M in Record Backpay Settlement

How does the legal environment of managing employees affect the culture and ultimate success of an organization?

As described in Section 8.9, the NLRB (National Labor Relations Board), an agency of the federal government, was established to fight unfair labor practices on the part of employers. The case against CNN from the video was settled in January 2020 and is part of the “largest monetary remedy” in history. CNN agreed to pay $76 million in back pay as a result of the cable television network terminating the contracts of unionized camera operators in 2003.

In 2019, the NLRB began an investigation into Google possibly violating labor laws after it fired four employees. The agency also indicated it will also investigate whether Google discouraged employees from engaging in union activity.

What might be the explanation for these are other large organizations getting into trouble with the NLRB for such violations? Since as the Section discussed, conciliation and mediation are possible ways to resolve disputes, why would CNN, Google, and others, spend years in legal proceedings?

Certainly, rules and regulations must be complex for all phases of human resource management and being up to date is essential. What might you suggest to upper management if you were responsible for human resources in order to put into practice compliant policies to avoid the time and expense of litigation with the United States government?

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