ASSOCIATED GENERAL CONTRACTORS OF AMERICA LABOR AND EMPLOYMENT LAW COUNCIL 28TH ANNUAL CONSTRUCTION LABOR LAW SYMPOSIUM WASHINGTON, D.C. APRIL 19-20, 2012 WHAT IS “FEATHERBEDDING”: UNDER THE NLRA AND UNDER YOUR COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AGREEMENT Presented By: WILLIAM BEVAN III REED SMITH LLP 225 Fifth Avenue Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15222 (412) 288-3184 Fax: (412) 288-3063 Website: www.reedsmith.com Email:
[email protected] WHAT IS “FEATHERBEDDING”: UNDER THE NLRA AND UNDER YOUR COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AGREEMENT William Bevan III* What is “featherbedding.” The popular notion is that featherbedding represents a situation where an employer pays employees for work it does not want or need. Most dictionary definitions confirm this, even specialized ones.1 Nevertheless, as this paper will show, the legal definition under the National Labor Relations Act (“NLRA” or “Act”) is narrower, and no pun intended, more exacting than commonly held perceptions of what constitutes featherbedding. Featherbedding as regulated under Section 8(b)(6)2 of the Act is limited to very specific situations that comport with the language of the statute but not with what the public perceives should be condemned as featherbedding. It is, perhaps, only in the arbitration world where more common notions of what constitutes featherbedding are likely to prevail. This paper will explore the legislative history of * Partner, Reed Smith LLP, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The views expressed here are mine alone and do not represent the views of Reed Smith LLP or the Associated General Contractors of America. 1 Featherbedding – (The action of) making comfortable by favourable, esp. economic or financial, treatment; the state of being so treated; spec.