An age old question under the National Labor Relations Act is what constitutes “picketing”? By the Supreme Court’s definition, picketing is inherently coercive and may not be directed against a neutral employer. An issue...more
10/30/2020
/ Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ,
Coercion ,
First Amendment ,
Free Speech ,
Labor Disputes ,
Labor Relations ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
NLRB General Counsel ,
Right to Picket ,
Unions
On September 11, 2020, a three-member National Labor Relations Board panel unanimously ruled that a trade group representing sign language interpreters did not violate Section 8(a)(1) of the Act by removing its members’ posts...more
The pandemic has thrown a number of obstacles at employers and employees as everyone attempts to navigate a novel situation. On August 13, 2020, the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) Division of Advice (“Advice”), the...more
8/18/2020
/ CARES Act ,
Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBA) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Duty to Bargain ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Layoffs ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Popular ,
Protected Concerted Activity ,
Section 7 ,
Unfair Labor Practices ,
Unions ,
Workplace Safety
After a brief delay where the NLRB suspended all representation elections from March 19 through April 6, 2020, NLRB Regional Directors have since largely required elections to be held via mail ballot to curb the spread of...more
We have seen this movie before. NLRB precedent established by the Board under the prior Administration conflicted sharply with decisions by the D.C. Circuit reviewing the Board. Then the current iteration of the Board...more
6/12/2020
/ Collective Bargaining ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Educational Institutions ,
Faculty ,
First Amendment ,
Jurisdiction ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Pacific Lutheran University ,
Religious Institutions ,
Religious Schools ,
Unions ,
Universities
On June 5, 2020, the NLRB held, in Teamsters Local Union No. 735-S (Bemis Co., Inc.), 369 NLRB No. 97, that union officials’ retaliatory actions against members who participated in an investigation resulting in the discharge...more
6/10/2020
/ Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ,
Bargaining Units ,
Burden-Shifting ,
Bylaws ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Disciplinary Proceedings ,
Employment Litigation ,
Labor Relations ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Protected Activity ,
Section 7 ,
Unions
On May 29, 2020, the NLRB issued an important opinion overruling two decisions in order to define the term “solicitation” in a manner consistent with prior Board decisions and the dictionary definition of the term. Wynn Las...more
6/4/2020
/ Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ,
Casino Employee ,
Casinos ,
ConAgra ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
NLRB ,
Non-Solicitation Agreements ,
Solicitation ,
Union Elections ,
Unions ,
Wal-Mart
In December 2019, the NLRB announced its Final Rule governing representation case procedures. The Final Rule applies to petitions filed on or after May 31, 2020. With the effective date fast approaching, NLRB Regions...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
5/28/2020
/ Bad Faith ,
Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBA) ,
Disability Benefits ,
Duty to Bargain ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Grievance Process ,
Labor Relations ,
Management Rights Clauses ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Unfair Labor Practices ,
Unions
One area of controversy over the years is the NLRB’s attempt to interpret markings on representation ballots that are not clearly “yes” or “no.” This has given rise to a number of tests for divining voter intent. Overruling...more
As most of the country’s workforce continues to adjust to the new realities of social distancing, stay-at-home orders, and limited travel, the practice of law and the forums for adjudicating disputes have shifted to video and...more
We have often reported about how an employer’s failure to adequately respond to an information request made by a union can lead to unfair labor practice charges and litigation. Sometimes a union makes an information request...more
As the NLRB continues to navigate the uncertainty in the work landscape during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, it seems to have stayed largely on course, regularly issuing decisions touching on a number of important topics...more
As we reported here, on April 1, 2020, the NLRB published its final rule making three amendments to its rules and regulations governing union elections (relating to the Board’s blocking charge policy; timing and notice...more
4/9/2020
/ Collective Bargaining ,
Comment Period ,
Construction Industry ,
Employee Rights ,
Labor Law Violations ,
Labor Regulations ,
Labor Relations ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Proposed Amendments ,
Public Comment ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Union Elections ,
Union Representatives ,
Unions
Although, like everyone else, the personnel at the NLRB have been consumed with the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on daily operations, including the ability of its Regional Offices to function and serve the public, the...more
On February 7, 2020 the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) sued the State of Oregon in federal court seeking a declaratory judgement to invalidate a state statute that protects employees who refuse to attend lawful...more
In its January 31, 2020 decision in Phillips 66, 369 NLRB No. 13 (January 31, 2020) the Board reversed a number of findings of unfair labor practices found by an Administrative Law Judge related to the employer’s conduct...more
2/15/2020
/ Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ,
Collective Bargaining ,
Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBA) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Good Faith ,
NLRB ,
Terms and Conditions ,
Unfair Labor Practices ,
Unions ,
Wage and Hour
On Thursday, February 6, 2020 the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Protecting the Right to Organize Act, also known as the “PRO Act”. The legislation passed mostly along party lines, would provide sweeping changes to...more
2/10/2020
/ Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBA) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Gig Economy ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Independent Contractors ,
Labor Regulations ,
Labor Relations ,
New Legislation ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Right to Work ,
Section 7 ,
Unfair Labor Practices ,
Unions
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 prior posts, we’ve discussed how information requests in the context of labor relations can be deceptively complex to comply with for employers. We’ve seen how an employer’s assertion of confidentiality, standing alone, is...more
1/22/2020
/ Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Information Requests ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Terms and Conditions ,
Unfair Labor Practices ,
Union Representatives ,
Unions ,
Wage and Hour
Shamrock Foods Company, 369 N.L.R.B. No. 5 (January 7, 2020) is the latest in the National Labor Relations Board’s series of employer-friendly decisions. In Shamrock Foods, the Board held that an employer did not violate...more
1/13/2020
/ Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ,
Employee Rights ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Hiring & Firing ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Reinstatement ,
Section 7 ,
Settlement Agreements ,
Termination ,
Unfair Labor Practices ,
Unions
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
1/3/2020
/ Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ,
Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Babcock & Wilcox Construction ,
Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBA) ,
Contract Terms ,
Disciplinary Proceedings ,
Employment Contract ,
Filing Grievances ,
Grievance Process ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Labor Law Violations ,
Labor Reform ,
Labor Relations ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Unfair Labor Practices ,
Unions ,
UPS ,
Wrongful Termination
Mid-December is always a time where one can expect significant decisions to issue from the NLRB. In recent years, we saw the Board, among other decisions, abandon the much criticized “micro unit” standard and the equally...more
12/17/2019
/ Bethlehem Steel ,
Collective Bargaining ,
Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBA) ,
Contract Negotiations ,
Dues Checkoff ,
Labor Relations ,
Mandatory Arbitration Clauses ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Statutory Requirements ,
Union Dues ,
Union Security Clauses ,
Unions
On October 28, 2019, the Ninth Circuit, following in the footsteps of the D.C. Circuit and the Second Circuit, affirmed an order entered by the NLRB confirming that prohibitions on secondary boycotts under Section...more
10/31/2019
/ Boycotts ,
Employee Rights ,
Employment Policies ,
First Amendment ,
Free Speech ,
Labor Disputes ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Secondary Boycott ,
Strike ,
Unfair Labor Practices ,
Union Representatives ,
Unions
The NLRB recently reiterated its position that the agency should not be so quick to dismiss petitions filed by employees seeking to decertify a union. The Board, in a 3-1 decision, held that if a petition for decertification...more