Yesterday, the Senate, voting along party lines 50 to 48, confirmed John Ring as a member of the National Labor Relations Board. With Ring’s confirmation, the five-member NLRB is now fully staffed with a 3-2 Republican...more
As we previously reported, in July 2015, the United States Supreme Court decided to consider the legality of “fair share” fees for public employees....more
We join with the education community in feeling shocked and saddened over recent events involving gun violence, including the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. We have no doubt that you...more
On October 4, 2017, the United States Department of Justice, through Attorney General Jeff Sessions, issued a memorandum rescinding an Obama-era policy protecting transgender employees from employment discrimination pursuant...more
10/18/2017
/ Civil Rights Act ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Gender Discrimination ,
Gender Identity ,
Hiring & Firing ,
LGBTQ ,
Protected Class ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Sexual Orientation ,
Sexual Orientation Discrimination ,
Title VII ,
Transgender
On September 29, 2017, a group of employees at Peacock Foods filed a class action lawsuit claiming that the company’s collection of employee fingerprints for time-tracking purposes violated the Illinois Biometric Information...more
As we previously reported, in July 2015, the United States Supreme Court decided to hear an appeal of a case from the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit regarding the legality of “fair share” fees for public...more
10/3/2017
/ Certiorari ,
Collective Bargaining ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Fair Share Contribution ,
First Amendment ,
Friedrichs v CA Teachers Association ,
Janus v AFSCME ,
Opt-Outs ,
Public Employees ,
Public Sector Unions ,
SCOTUS ,
Unions
In what will come as no surprise to even the most casual labor law observer, last Friday an Acting Regional Director for the National Labor Relations Board created a new inroad for unions to organize undergraduate resident...more
In its 2014 landmark decision in Pacific Lutheran University (PLU), the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) held that it will assert jurisdiction over faculty at religious colleges and universities unless the college or...more
4/12/2017
/ Collective Bargaining ,
Faculty ,
First Amendment ,
Jurisdiction ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Pacific Lutheran University ,
Religious Institutions ,
Religious Schools ,
Unions ,
Universities
Under Title VII, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has the authority to issue subpoenas for documents relevant to its investigations. Prior to the Supreme Court’s decision in McLane Co. v. EEOC, which issued...more
Recently, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois held that the Village of Lincolnshire’s municipal ordinance regulating union activities was invalid under federal law. The ruling is a defeat for...more
As we previously reported, the City of Chicago is gradually moving to a minimum wage of $13 an hour by July 2019. On Wednesday, Cook County joined the City of Chicago in gradually increasing the minimum wage by approving a...more
A divided federal appeals court recently reminded employers that an employee’s request for a reasonable accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”) need not be explicit in order to invoke the interactive...more
On Tuesday the U.S. Supreme Court held that a public employee could sue his employer for retaliation where the employer demoted him for engaging in constitutionally-protected political activity, even though the employer was...more
Last week, the Illinois Supreme Court vacated an arbitration award requiring the State to pay a 2% wage increase to certain state employees who are represented by the American Federation of State, County and Municipal...more
As we previously reported, in July 2015, the United States Supreme Court decided to hear an appeal of a case from the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit regarding the legality of “fair share” fees for public...more
A federal district court has ruled that the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) preempts a county government from enacting a right-to-work ordinance applicable only to that county. The decision from the U.S. District Court...more
When the Chicago Board of Education refused to arbitrate grievances concerning its “do not hire” policy, it did not violate the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Act according to the Illinois Supreme Court. This case...more
Last week, Governor Bruce Rauner broke off contract negotiations with AFSCME Council 31, the union that represents nearly 40,000 state workers, and will seek a declaration from the Illinois Labor Relations Board (“the Board”)...more
On October 22, 2015, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the National Labor Relations Board’s (NLRB) decision that Triple Play Sports Bar and Grille (Employer) violated Section 8(a)(1) of the National Labor Relations...more
10/29/2015
/ Defamation ,
Employment Policies ,
Facebook ,
Hiring & Firing ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Online Platforms ,
Protected Concerted Activity ,
Social Media ,
Social Media Policy ,
Social Networks
On September 30, 2015, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed, in part, a district court’s ruling that some of the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s (NCAA) compensation rules were unlawful restraints on trade in...more
10/13/2015
/ Appeals ,
College Athletes ,
Colleges ,
Deferred Compensation ,
Educational Institutions ,
Name and Likeness ,
NCAA ,
O'Bannon v NCAA ,
Paying For College ,
Rule-of-Reason Analysis ,
Sherman Act ,
Student Athletes ,
Wage and Hour
As we reported earlier, on December 15, 2014, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) adopted a Final Rule that modified its processing of representation cases. See, 79 Fed. Reg. at 74308. As part of this rule, the NLRB...more
Earlier this week, Governor Rauner and AFSCME Council 31, the union representing almost 40,000 state workers, agreed to temporarily extend the terms of the 2012-2015 collective bargaining agreement (CBA) and prohibit a strike...more
On June 30th, the United State Supreme Court granted certiorari in Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association, and will consider whether public sector agency shop arrangements, also known as “fair share” contractual...more
Earlier this month, the Illinois General Assembly passed legislation that drastically changes the collective bargaining landscape for State of Illinois employees. Senate Bill 1229 requires the use of interest arbitration...more
On Friday, the Illinois Supreme Court ruled that pension reform legislation passed in 2013, commonly referred to as Senate Bill 1, violates the pension protection clause of the Illinois Constitution. The Court upheld a...more