In any FLSA lawsuit involving unionized workers, the defense lawyer must always look for a preemption defense. That means that the lawsuit is not properly before a Judge because it involves union contract interpretation, the...more
Executive Summary: It is quite rare when a three-judge panel on a court of appeals overrules prior precedent. Yet, that is exactly what happened on March 30, 2022, in Pittsburgh Mailers Union Local 22 v. PG Publishing Co....more
The Sixth Circuit, in a split decision, held that a dispute between a union and an employer regarding retiree healthcare benefits was not arbitrable because the issue of retiree healthcare benefits was not encompassed within...more
On March 10, 2021, the Florida Third District Court of Appeal made a rare finding against arbitrability where an arbitration clause was present in a contract. Such a finding reminds contractors, vendors, and consumer service...more
On July 29, 2020, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit (the “Second Circuit”) handed down what amounts to a significant win for the collectively-bargained dispute-resolution process set forth in the...more
On May 21, 2020, the NLRB issued a decision in Altura Communication Solutions, LLC. The case asked the Board to consider whether a series of broad proposals made by the employer during collective bargaining amounted to bad...more
The National Labor Relations Board recently overturned a decision issued in 2014 and returned to its time-honored standard for post-arbitral deferral in unfair labor practice cases alleging discipline or discharge in...more
The Trump National Labor Relations Board (Board or NLRB) gifted employers a significant win on the eve of the Christmas holiday with its December 23 decision in United Parcel Service, Inc., 369 NLRB No. 1 (UPS), which...more
In yet another end-of-2019 decision overruling significant NLRA precedent, the Board reverted to the less stringent Spielberg / Olin standard for determining whether to defer to arbitration decisions in the context of Section...more
On December 23, 2019, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB, or the Board) overturned an Obama-era decision regarding deference to labor arbitration proceedings....more
On July 2, 2019, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit handed a significant victory to New York’s home care industry. In Abdullayeva v. Attending Home Care Services, the appellate court reversed a lower court’s...more
The alternative dispute resolution landscape continues to evolve for employers with unionized workforces. Anheuser-Busch, LCC, 367 NLRB 123 (May 22, 2019), is the National Labor Relations Board’s (NLRB) latest decision on the...more
Employers subject to collective bargaining relationships often complain about the time they spend responding to objectively meritless grievances. ...more
On May 15, 2017, the seventh circuit ruled that unless the language in a collective bargaining agreement (“CBA”) explicitly states that the employee must resolve his statutory and contractual rights through the grievance...more
On May 15, 2017, the Seventh Circuit issued its ruling in Vega v. New Forest Home Cemetery, LLC, finding that an employee was not barred from bringing a Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) claim in a judicial forum, despite his...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: The New Jersey Appellate Division reinstated plaintiff’s state law discrimination and retaliation claims, finding the claims were not pre-empted by Section 301 of the LMRA....more
New York Jets player Darrelle Revis is entering the third year of his approximately $70 million five-year contract with the team. He is slated to receive a $13 million base salary ($6 million fully guaranteed) and a $2...more
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (“Ninth Circuit”) recently provided much needed clarification of the standard for when a unionized employee’s claim may be preempted under § 301 of the Labor Management...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: The Court of Appeal has held that unless a collective bargaining agreement includes an explicitly stated, clear and unmistakable, intent to waive the right to a judicial forum for statutory causes of...more
Abington Heights School District (Case No. PERA-C-11-221-E) (Pa. LRB 2015) (Decided December 15, 2015). A Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board hearing examiner determined that the District was permitted to openly discuss...more
Last year, I wrote about an unsuccessful attempt to vacate a puzzling arbitration award that overturned the termination of a school custodian who made threats of violence. In a decision that was officially issued on October...more