ABA Family Legal Guide

Law and the Workplace

On the Job

Unions in the Workplace

What are the legal consequences of engaging in a strike?

That depends on what caused the strike. If the reason for the strike is to protest workplace conditions or to support union bargaining demands, it is called an economic strike. The employer can permanently replace the strikers. If the employer replaces them, it's like being laid off. When the strike ends, if the replacement worker is still employed, the striker is not entitled to be reinstated to his or her job. However, as soon as a vacancy occurs, the striking employees may have the right to be reinstated to their jobs.

If the reason for the strike is to protest the fact that the employer has violated the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), it is called an unfair labor practice strike. Unfair labor practice strikers cannot be permanently replaced, and they have the right to be immediately reinstated to their jobs when the strike ends.

In neither event is an employer allowed to discharge, discipline, or otherwise discriminate in terms or conditions of employment because an employee engaged in a strike.