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The National Labor Relations Board 2023 Year In Review – An Overview of Major Developments in Labor Law

Introduction - 2023 may prove to be a landmark year for U.S. labor law. There were several significant changes in the law that left employers reeling. The breadth and depth of these changes were staggering even for seasoned...more

Addressing Workers’ Compensation Issues for the Remote Workforce

The ever-evolving work landscape and rise of remote work have brought about new challenges and opportunities for Pennsylvania employers. A critical aspect of maintaining employee well-being and ensuring legal compliance has...more

When Assessing the Propriety of Employee Discipline, One Size No Longer Fits All

Now more than ever, it seems that employees are willing to express themselves. While open communication with and among employees is usually a good thing, sometimes an employer’s rules are broken in the process. A worker...more

Federal Appeals Court Finds Vulgar Workplace Graffiti is Protected Activity (Sometimes)

No, your eyes aren’t playing tricks on you. You read that correctly. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit recently affirmed a ruling by the NLRB which found an employer violated the National Labor Relations Act...more

Senate Passes Bill to Prohibit Forced Arbitration in Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Claims

Many employers require their workers to sign arbitration agreements at the outset of employment, and it’s no wonder why.  These agreements allow employers to require arbitration of many employment-related disputes, rather...more

Unemployment Compensation Fraud – What’s an Employer To Do?

As legitimate unemployment compensation claims have spiked in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, so too have fraudulent ones. Just yesterday, Maryland’s Department of Labor announced that the state has detected over 508,000...more

The National Labor Relations Board 2020 Year In Review – An Overview of Major Developments in Labor Law

INTRODUCTION - In our last Review, we reported that the National Labor Relations Board had a very busy year. Despite the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, 2020 was also a fairly busy year for the Board. In its final...more

Green Does Not Mean Go Back to Normal – Considerations for Employers as Pennsylvania Approaches the COVID-19 Green Phase

Nearly one month after Pennsylvania shut down in March to slow the spread of COVID-19, Governor Wolf announced a three-phase plan to reopen the Commonwealth.  Counties were to be classified in to red, yellow, and green phases...more

NLRB Suspends Union Elections in Response to COVID-19

COVID-19’s impact on workplace matters continues to broaden.  The National Labor Relations Board, which has jurisdiction over most private sector employers, announced on Thursday that all union elections within its purview...more

Governor Wolf Suspends Enforcement of Shutdown of Non-Life Sustaining Businesses’ Physical Locations

On March 19, Governor Wolf announced that non-life sustaining businesses would be required to close their physical locations in Pennsylvania by 8:00 p.m. that evening.  As part of the order, the Administration published a...more

The National Labor Relations Board 2019 Year End Review: An Overview of Major Developments in Labor Law

If 2018 was a year of elevator music at the National Labor Relations Board, 2019 was symphony of sound.  The Board’s initiatives were varied, high-profile and in the vast majority of cases, the developments were positives for...more

NLRB (Mostly) Restores Employers’ Right to Restrict Use of Their Email Systems

In 2014, the NLRB held in Purple Communications that employers must allow their employees  to use company email systems to engage in union activities and other protected conduct under the National Labor Relations Act. Last...more

The National Labor Relations Board 2018 Year In Review – An Overview of Major Developments in Labor Law

Although in many respects it was a slow year for the National Labor Relations Board, it was a year of progress in the eyes of many employers. The Board operated at full strength for the entire year, with Republican John Ring...more

NLRB Reinstates Independent Contractor Test

In a key decision for many franchisors and franchisees, and others who rely on independent contractors, the National Labor Relations Board recently reinstated its test for examining contractor status. ...more

NLRB’s Position on Unions’ Right to Use Employers’ Email Could Change

Another Obama-era National Labor Relations Board policy may be on the ropes. Four years ago, the Board issued its controversial Purple Communications decision. In that case, it determined that employees have the right to...more

The Most Recent Chapter in the Joint Employer Saga? A Spat between the NLRB Chairman and Democrat Senators

If you have followed our blog over the past year, you are aware of the long and tortured history of the National Labor Relations Board’s joint employer standard. The recent history starts with the Obama Board’s decision to...more

Avoid Jumping to Conclusions About Compensability of Work Injuries Caused by an Employee’s Intentional, High-Risk Conduct

What should a Pennsylvania employer do when an employee seeks workers’ compensation benefits after injuring himself by engaging in risky behavior at work? ...more

The National Labor Relations Board 2017 Year In Review – An Overview of Major Developments in Labor Law

For employers, 2017 brought some long awaited relief and hope that return to normalcy in labor law is on the way. Admittedly, the wait for employers turned out to be a little longer than expected. The National Labor Relations...more

Senate Confirms President Trump’s Pick for National Labor Relations Board General Counsel

In September, President Trump nominated management-side labor and employment lawyer Peter Robb to replace Richard Griffin, whose term expired on November 4, 2017, as general counsel to the National Labor Relations Board. ...more

What Does Attorney General’s Memo on Transgender Rights Mean for Employers?

LGBTQ workplace rights is perhaps the most rapidly evolving area in employment law. On October 4, 2017, United States Attorney General Jeff Sessions formally weighed in on the topic. He issued a memorandum to all federal...more

Third Circuit Holds that A Single Word Can Lead to Liability for Hostile Work Environment

Most employers take proactive steps to prevent and eliminate workplace harassment. Until recently, courts recognized and rewarded the proactive approach. Businesses in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware could avoid...more

Pennsylvania Supreme Court Decision in Protz Marks Major Change in Workers’ Compensation Law

Prior to June 20, 2017, a powerful tool was available to employers and workers’ compensation carriers to cap exposure on long term workers’ compensation claims. That tool, provided by the Act 44 amendments in 1996, was...more

Breaking New Ground: Seventh Circuit Rules that Title VII Protects Sexual Orientation

Workplace rights for LGBT individuals has been a rapidly developing area of the law. A little over two years ago, former President Obama signed an executive order prohibiting federal contractors from discriminating against...more

D.C. Circuit Questions Validity of the NLRB’s Joint Employer Standard

In 2015, we discussed the new joint-employer standard that was articulated by the National Labor Relations Board in Browning-Ferris Industries of California, Inc. As a reminder, the NLRB held that a joint-employer...more

PA Employers Must Pay Unemployment Taxes Electronically in 2017

The Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry recently announced that all employers in the Commonwealth will be required to pay their share of unemployment compensation taxes online. The new rule takes effect January 1,...more

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