• contract image by martin schmid from Fotolia.com
  
  An unfair labor practice is a violation of 4117.11 of the Ohio Revised Code. Both employers and employees are bound by the provisions in ORC 4117.11. These deal primarily with the rights and restrictions regarding employees' right to bargain collectively and also the employer's protections within that context. Private sector labor and employers are protected under federal law, so the state law governs only public sector employees and employers.
  
  

Interference with Collective Bargaining

• Employees have the right to join and participate in organizations they designate to represent them in bargaining collectively with their employer. A majority of the employees must have agreed to be so represented. Employers must not interfere with the employees' right to act collectively in this regard or discriminate against employees who have done so (see References 1).
  
  

Refusal to Bargain

• Both the employer and the employee representative body must bargain in good faith over wages, terms and conditions of employment and wages. Employees may not disrupt the employer's business activities in their efforts to negotiate collectively. This includes boycotts and illegal pickets or illegal strikes. To strike legally, the organization must give due notice to the employer of the intention to strike,
  
  

Grievance Processing

• Collective bargaining agreements must have grievance procedures outlined. The employer is bound to hear the grievances in a timely manner. The employer may not fire or discriminate against an employee who files a grievance just because he has done so (Reference 1).
  
  

No Lockouts

• An employer cannot coerce employees in a labor dispute by locking them out of their jobs. Likewise, the workers' representative cannot coerce its members to take part in any labor action or cause them to violate any provision under the statute (see Reference 2).
  
  The complete ORC 4117.11 can be read at codes.ohio.gov.