Current through Register Vol. 6, March 22, 2024
(1) For the purposes of
39-51-2305,
MCA, and of this rule, the following definitions and interpretations apply:
(a) "Grade or class of workers" means:
(i) workers who are members of a particular
bargaining unit; or
(ii) workers
whose jobs are similar or integrated or who have substantial mutual interests
or similarities in wages, hours, and other conditions of work.
(b) "labor dispute" means any
controversy concerning terms, tenure, or conditions of work or concerning the
association or representation of persons in negotiating, fixing, maintaining,
changing, or seeking to arrange terms or conditions of work, regardless of
whether the disputants stand in the proximate relation of employer and
employee.
(c) "strike" means a
concerted cessation of work by workers in an effort to obtain or to resist some
change in conditions of work.
(2) A worker is considered to be
participating in the labor dispute at the factory, establishment or other
premises where the worker was last working that caused a strike, as provided in
39-51-2305(1),
MCA, if the worker:
(a) is picketing,
refusing to cross a picket line, or refusing to report for work; or
(b) is a member of a bargaining unit that
voted to authorize the strike.
(3) A worker is considered to be financing
the labor dispute at the factory, establishment or other premises where the
worker was last working that caused a strike, as provided in
39-51-2305(1),
MCA, if the worker, or the union of which the worker is a member, has
contributed time or money directly or through any special assessment in an
attempt to affect the outcome of the labor dispute, further the objectives of
the strike, or provide aid or support to the union involved in the labor
dispute or to the workers participating in the strike.
(4) A worker is considered to be directly
interested in the labor dispute at the factory, establishment or other premises
where the worker was last working that caused a strike, as provided in
39-51-2305(1),
MCA, if:
(a) the labor dispute involves one
or more of the terms or conditions of the employment agreement under which the
worker was working at the time of the commencement of the strike; or
(b) the resolution of the labor dispute may
reasonably be expected to affect the wages, hours, or other workers' conditions
of work.
(5) The factors
enumerated in (2), (3), and (4) are not exhaustive and, therefore, other
circumstances not contemplated in this rule may be found by the department to
constitute participation in a labor dispute or direct interest in a labor
dispute or financing of a labor dispute strike by a worker, if such a finding
is supported by a preponderance of the evidence and as a matter of
law.
(6)
(a) The department will determine that a
labor dispute was caused by an employer's violation of law pertaining to
collective bargaining, as provided in
39-51-2305,
MCA, if the strike that exists because of the labor dispute is found, by a
state or federal agency or court with jurisdiction to make such a finding, to
have been, from its inception, an unfair labor practice strike. If the strike
is found to have been converted into an unfair labor practice strike, a worker
disqualified pursuant to
39-51-2305(1),
MCA, will remain disqualified until the end of the week during which the
conversion is found to have occurred.
(b) The department will determine that a
labor dispute was caused by an employer's violation of law pertaining to hours,
wages, or other conditions of work if:
(i)
the strike that exists because of the labor dispute is found, by a state or
federal agency or court with jurisdiction to make such a finding, to have been
caused by the employer's violation of state or federal law pertaining to hours,
wages, or other conditions of work; or
(ii) the employer is found, by a state or
federal agency or court with jurisdiction to make such a finding, to have
violated state or federal law pertaining to collective bargaining, hours,
wages, or other conditions of work and, in the absence of any finding by the
agency or court as to whether the violation was the cause of the strike, the
department determines that the violation was the cause in fact and proximate
cause of the strike that exists because of the labor dispute.
(7) If no violation of
law is found as described under (6) above, a worker disqualified pursuant to
39-51-2305,
MCA, will remain disqualified until the end of the week in which:
(a)
(i) the
strike is abandoned; and
(ii) the
worker, or the union of which the worker is a member, makes an unconditional
offer to return to work; or
(b) there has been a complete and bona fide
termination of the work relationship between the worker and the employer. The
permanent replacement of a striking worker will be considered to constitute a
complete and bona fide severance of the work relationship between the worker
and the employer only upon a final determination by a state or federal agency
or court with jurisdiction to make such a determination that the worker has no
rights of reinstatement.
39-51-301,
39-51-302,
MCA; IMP,
39-51-2305,
MCA;