The National Labor Relations Board returned to prior precedent, making it more difficult for employers to defend against unfair labor practice charges alleging a unilateral change in violation of the National Labor Relations...more
12/16/2024
/ Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ,
Collective Bargaining ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Labor Relations ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Unfair Labor Practices ,
Unilateral Modification ,
Unions ,
Wage and Hour ,
Waivers
In a landmark decision, the National Labor Relations Board has significantly altered the landscape of employer free speech rights by restricting the use of mandatory “captive audience” meetings. 373 NLRB No. 136 (Nov. 13,...more
The National Labor Relations Board once again has reversed precedent. It will now use a case-by-case analysis to determine whether an employer’s statements about the negative impacts of unionization on the relationship...more
1. Former President Donald Trump’s Election Day victory leaves the National Labor Relations Board’s status uncertain, but a new general counsel appointment is likely. Currently, the Board has a 2-1 Democratic majority....more
11/13/2024
/ Employee Training ,
First Amendment ,
Just Cause ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
NLRB General Counsel ,
Presidential Elections ,
Reimbursements ,
Strike ,
Trump Administration ,
Union Elections ,
Unions
Employers can expect a definite shift in the National Labor Relations Board under the new Trump Administration.
Following President Joe Biden’s 2020 election, labor and employment law practitioners saw sweeping legal...more
11/11/2024
/ Administrative Appointments ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Electronic Monitoring ,
Independent Contractors ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
NLRB General Counsel ,
Quickie Election Rules ,
Retirement Funds ,
Section 7 ,
Severance Agreements ,
Surveillance ,
Trump Administration ,
Unfair Labor Practices ,
Union Elections ,
Unions
The National Labor Relations Board witnessed a significant increase in union election petitions in fiscal year (FY) 2024 (Oct. 1, 2023 – Sept. 30, 2024). The Board received 3,286 union election petitions, a 27 percent rise...more
The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has issued its “Fair Choice-Employee Voice” Final Rule, rescinding portions of its April 2020 union representation procedures on blocking charges, the voluntary recognition bar, and...more
In the weeks surrounding Labor Day 2023, the National Labor Relations Board overturned precedent with decisions and rules significantly impacting both union and non-union employers. The result is labor laws encouraging both...more
9/22/2023
/ Collective Bargaining ,
Contract Negotiations ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Discipline ,
Duty to Bargain ,
Employee Handbooks ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Independent Contractors ,
Labor Relations ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Protected Concerted Activity ,
Repeat Violations ,
Severance Agreements ,
Unfair Labor Practices ,
Union Elections ,
Union Organizers ,
Unions
The National Labor Relations Board has returned to the “totality of the circumstances” test for determining when individual employee action constitutes protected concerted activity. Miller Plastic Products, Inc., 372 NLRB No....more
Overruling crucial aspects of precedent, the National Labor Relations Board has expanded an employer’s duty to bargain with employees under the National Labor Relations Act following the expiration of a labor contract and...more
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has announced a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to amend its regulations to allow employee-authorized third-party representatives to accompany Occupational Safety and Health Administration...more
The National Labor Relations Board continued its efforts to facilitate union organizing and upended significant aspects of prior precedent by: (1) making it easier for unions to circumvent the Board’s election procedures...more
The National Labor Relations Board has again revised its standard for assessing whether an employer’s facially neutral work rules (rules that do not explicitly restrict Section 7 activities) unlawfully restrict employee...more
Minnesota will soon prohibit employers from requiring employees to attend political or religious meetings, including talks about labor unions. Additionally, similar legislation passed by the New York legislature will likely...more
The National Labor Relations Act does not preempt a company’s state tort claims alleging a union’s intentional destruction of company property during a labor dispute, the U.S. Supreme Court has held in an 8-1 decision....more
The National Labor Relations Board returned to its prior standard for analyzing the legality of disciplining employee misconduct related to protected concerted activity. Lion Elastomers LLC II, 372 NLRB No. 83 (May 1, 2023)....more
5/11/2023
/ Abusive Acts ,
Collective Bargaining ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Misconduct ,
Federal Contractors ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
NLRB General Counsel ,
Protected Concerted Activity ,
Subcontractors ,
Unfair Labor Practices ,
Unions
The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has returned to its pre-2020 “setting-specific” standards for determining whether an employee’s abusive conduct is protected by the National Labor Relations Act. Lion Elastomers LLC...more
The National Labor Relations Board will release its new joint-employer rule in August. In September 2022, the Board issued its proposed rule for determining joint-employer status under the National Labor Relations Act under...more
4/18/2023
/ Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Governor Whitmer ,
Information Sharing ,
Joint Employers ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
NLRB General Counsel ,
Personal Data ,
Right to Work ,
Unions ,
Wage and Hour
1. More than 220,000 workers participated in over 300 total work stoppages in 2022, according to a Bloomberg Law report. The number of strikes is the highest recorded in 17 years. While the majority of work stoppages involved...more
The union membership rate among private sector workers fell to 6.0% in 2022, according to a U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) news release. This is down from 6.1% in 2021 and continues the overall decline since private...more
1. The National Labor Relations Board expanded its authority to include awarding consequential damages in unfair labor practice cases. Thryv, Inc., 372 NLRB No. 22 (Dec. 13, 2022). Monetary remedies for violations of the...more
1/9/2023
/ Bargaining Units ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Federal Budget ,
Information Technology ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Protected Concerted Activity ,
Unfair Labor Practices ,
Unions ,
Wage and Hour
In a 3-2 decision, the National Labor Relations Board has reinstated its prior standard providing a more expansive right of off-duty contractor employees to access publicly accessible areas of the primary employer’s workplace...more
Swinging the pendulum back to imposing a higher hurdle for employers seeking to include employees improperly excluded from a proposed bargaining unit, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) in American Steel, 372 NLRB 23...more
President Joe Biden signed legislation imposing a collective bargaining agreement between freight carriers and railroad unions, avoiding a nationwide strike. Congress passed the bill utilizing its authority under the Railway...more
President Joe Biden has asked Congress to step in and enact legislation in the hopes of preventing a nationwide railway strike.
The move comes after four of 12 national railroad labor unions rejected a proposed bargaining...more