On July 9, 2024, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit told the National Labor Relations Board’s to reconsider the standard for whether abusive or inappropriate speech is protected under Section 7 of the...more
On August 31, 2023, the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB” or “Board”) adopted a broader test for what is considered “protected concerted activity” under the National Labor Relations Act (“NLRA” or the “Act”). Section 7...more
In a decision that had been anticipated, the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB” or “Board”) abandoned its short-lived burden-shifting test for determining the legality of employer discipline of employees found to have...more
On December 16, 2022, the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB” or “Board”) abandoned the employer-friendly access standard for off-duty employees of an onsite contractor that was adopted under the Trump Administration in...more
On July 21, 2021, the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB” or the “Board”) issued a 3-1 decision affirming its precedent that displaying banners and a large inflatable rat (“Scabby the Rat”) near neutral employers does not...more
On September 18, the Board’s GC issued GC Memo 20-14, entitled Summaries of Advice Merit Determinations Related to Coronavirus Disease 2019 Issues for the purpose of giving the public a better understanding of the GC’s...more
9/23/2020
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Duty to Bargain ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Layoffs ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
NLRB General Counsel ,
Protected Concerted Activity ,
Unions ,
Weingarten Rights
The National Labor Relations Board’s (“NLRB” or Board”) Division of Advice[1] recently released five memos dealing with issues related to the COVID-19 pandemic—concluding in all five that dismissal of the pending unfair labor...more
On Tuesday, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB or Board) issued its much-awaited decision in General Motors, LLC (GM), 369 NLRB No. 127 (2020), in which it held that abusive or inappropriate workplace speech by...more
Most employers wrestling with COVID-19 related employment law issues aren’t paying much attention to the labor law issues arising out of the pandemic. Indeed, because most U.S. employers are non-union, many operate under the...more
It is lawful to discipline and even discharge an employee for making inappropriate or offensive remarks in the workplace. Indeed, current anti-harassment and anti-bullying laws may require an employer to take adverse action...more
9/12/2019
/ Adverse Employment Action ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Policies ,
Hiring & Firing ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Offensive Language ,
Protected Concerted Activity ,
Racist Remarks ,
Unfair Labor Practices ,
Unions
Does an employer who genuinely believes that its workers are independent contractors and tells them that they are contractors and not employees, only to later find out that it was wrong, violate Section 8(a)(1) of the...more
9/6/2019
/ Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ,
Administrative Review ,
Delivery Drivers ,
Employee Definition ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Former Employer ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Independent Contractors ,
Misclassification ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Protected Concerted Activity ,
Reversal ,
Unfair Labor Practices ,
Wrongful Termination
The National Labor Relations Act’s (NLRA or Act) Section 7 grants to all employees — regardless of whether they are unionized or not — the right to engage in protected concerted activity (PCA). Accordingly, an employer may...more
8/2/2019
/ Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ,
Employee Rights ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Protected Concerted Activity ,
Section 7 ,
Strike ,
Unfair Labor Practices ,
Unions ,
Wal-Mart
Does an employer automatically engage in unlawful discrimination when it grants an improved benefit to its non-union employees but withholds the improvement from its union employees who are covered by a collective bargaining...more
6/6/2019
/ Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ,
Collective Bargaining ,
Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBA) ,
Contract Terms ,
Disparate Treatment ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Labor Relations ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Non-Union ,
Paid Leave ,
Protected Concerted Activity ,
Unions ,
Wage and Hour
In The Boeing Company, 365 NLRB No. 154 (2017), the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) reassessed the standard it would apply when determining the facial validity of otherwise neutral work rules based upon a balancing...more
On August 1, 2018, the National Labor Relations Board (“Board”) issued a Notice and Invitation to File Briefs, inviting the public to file briefs on whether the Board should overrule its 2014 decision in Purple...more
On June 6, 2018, the National Labor Relation Board’s (“NLRB” or “Board”) General Counsel issued Memorandum GC 18-04 (“GC 18-04”), which provides guidance to employers on the legality of certain handbook rules following the...more