A divided three-judge panel of the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals partially affirmed a federal district court’s decision to vacate part of a rule issued by the National Labor Relations Board (the “Board”) in 2019 that...more
California law requires employers to furnish a “safe and healthful” workplace to employees. Now that the line between “workplace” and “home” has been blurred for so many workers in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the law...more
On March 30, 2022, three judge panel of the Third Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously overruled prior precedent allowing “implied” contracts to survive the expiration of a written agreement. The instant panel held, instead,...more
A recent California Court of Appeal decision confirms that a California employer may be liable to an at-will employee who relocates to accept a new employment position, when the employer’s description of the kind or character...more
2/25/2022
/ Appeals ,
At-Will Employment ,
Employee Relocations ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Job Duties ,
Labor Code ,
Labor Regulations ,
Misrepresentation ,
Summary Judgment ,
Wage and Hour
Similar to other disagreements between the NLRB and D.C. Circuit, a tension developed during the last several years regarding the appropriate standard to determine whether teachers at religious schools are covered by the NLRA...more
2/3/2020
/ Appeals ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
First Amendment ,
Jurisdiction ,
Lack of Jurisdiction ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Pacific Lutheran University ,
Religious Institutions ,
Religious Schools ,
Teachers ,
Unfair Labor Practices ,
Union Membership ,
Unions
In the field of labor relations, there exist some rare occurrences, things that happen so seldom that it seems as if they are impossible. As we’ve previously discussed, one such “unicorn sighting” is the NLRB overturning an...more
During the last decade, a number of NLRB decisions faulted employers for written policies that were considered to be overbroad in violation of the National Labor Relations Act. These rulings sprang largely from the NLRB’s...more
2/27/2019
/ Appeals ,
Collective Bargaining ,
Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBA) ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employee Handbooks ,
Employee Rights ,
Employment Policies ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Section 7 ,
Union Representatives ,
Unions
One area of labor relations that continues to vex practitioners is the scope of the so-called Weingarten rights. NLRB v. J. Weingarten Inc., 420 U.S. 251 (1975). Some 43 years after the Supreme Court set forth the right that...more
When bargaining over an agreement, it is common to hear union representatives ask “why do we need such elaborate language in an agreement? We are always reasonable.” To which, the company usually responds, “We think you’re...more
Labor disputes are passionate affairs. Workplace grievances elicit all sorts of strident behavior. When the dispute involves a group of employees, the effect can become magnified. The exact point at which the stridency of an...more
During the last several years, the NLRB has overturned a great deal of existing precedent. Among other changes, the Board has required bargaining over discipline in newly organized units, found graduate students to be...more
6/8/2017
/ American Baptist ,
Appeals ,
Arbitration ,
Confidential Employer Investigations ,
Confidentiality Agreements ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Internal Investigations ,
NLRB ,
Retaliation ,
Standing ,
Unions ,
Witness Statements ,
Workplace Investigations
The term “right to work state” is fairly well known. After all, 25 of the United States are “right to work states,” states which have enacted laws prohibiting compulsory unionism as part of a collective bargaining agreement....more
The fallout from Noel Canning has been felt far and wide. The DC Circuit Court’s January 25, 2013 decision certainly put all NLRB decisions made since January 4, 2012 (the date Members Block and Griffin received their recess...more