Legal Definitions - Laidlaw vacancy

A Laidlaw vacancy refers to a genuine job opening that arises within an employer's workforce after a strike has ended and the striking employees have made an unconditional offer to return to work. These openings can occur for several reasons: the company might be expanding and needs more staff, an existing employee might have been fired, or an employee might have resigned or retired. Under U.S. labor law, specifically the National Labor Relations Act, if such a vacancy appears, the employer is legally obligated to offer it to former striking workers, prioritizing them based on their seniority, before hiring new employees. This rule ensures that striking employees are given preference for available positions once the labor dispute is resolved.

Here are some examples illustrating a Laidlaw vacancy:

• Example 1: Workforce Expansion Post-Strike

  A software development company experiences a strike by its quality assurance engineers. After the strike is resolved, the company secures a major new contract that requires the immediate hiring of 15 additional QA engineers to meet project deadlines. These 15 new positions constitute Laidlaw vacancies because they are genuine openings created by the company's expansion *after* the strike concluded. The company must offer these roles to the former striking QA engineers, based on their seniority, before recruiting any new candidates from outside.

• Example 2: Employee Turnover After Strike Resolution

  A municipal bus service faces a strike by its drivers. Once the strike is settled, and the striking drivers offer to return, several non-striking drivers who had been considering retirement decide to leave their positions, and two other drivers relocate to a different state. This creates a total of seven open driver positions. These seven roles are Laidlaw vacancies. They are genuine openings resulting from employees resigning or otherwise leaving their employment *after* the strike. The bus service must offer these positions to the former striking drivers, according to their seniority, before hiring new drivers from the general public.

• Example 3: Discharge of Employees Post-Strike

  A hospital experiences a strike involving its nursing staff. After the strike is resolved, the hospital identifies several nurses who were hired as temporary replacements during the strike whose performance was consistently below standard. The hospital decides to terminate the employment of four of these replacement nurses. Additionally, one long-term, non-striking nurse is dismissed for a serious breach of protocol. The five resulting nursing positions are Laidlaw vacancies. They are genuine openings created by the discharge of employees *after* the strike concluded. The hospital must offer these positions to the former striking nurses, based on their seniority, before considering any new applicants.