In what will come as no surprise to even the most casual labor law observer, last Friday an Acting Regional Director for the National Labor Relations Board created a new inroad for unions to organize undergraduate resident...more
In its 2014 landmark decision in Pacific Lutheran University (PLU), the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) held that it will assert jurisdiction over faculty at religious colleges and universities unless the college or...more
4/12/2017
/ Collective Bargaining ,
Faculty ,
First Amendment ,
Jurisdiction ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Pacific Lutheran University ,
Religious Institutions ,
Religious Schools ,
Unions ,
Universities
Under Title VII, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has the authority to issue subpoenas for documents relevant to its investigations. Prior to the Supreme Court’s decision in McLane Co. v. EEOC, which issued...more
The National Labor Relations Board’s General Counsel is an important position. The General Counsel is, among other things, the NLRB’s chief prosecutor and sets the Agency’s prosecutorial agenda. The GC is appointed by the...more
Since 2014, the National Labor Relations Board has issued three significant decisions related to union organizing at private universities: Pacific Lutheran University; Columbia College; and Northwestern University. ...more
2/10/2017
/ College Athletes ,
Colleges ,
Employees ,
Football ,
NCAA ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
NLRB General Counsel ,
Northwestern University ,
Pacific Lutheran University ,
Section 7 ,
Unfair Labor Practices ,
Unions ,
Universities
As we previously reported, the City of Chicago is gradually moving to a minimum wage of $13 an hour by July 2019. On Wednesday, Cook County joined the City of Chicago in gradually increasing the minimum wage by approving a...more
In what will come as no surprise to even the most casual labor law observer, yesterday the National Labor Relations Board jettisoned established precedent and granted teaching assistants and other student assistants at...more
8/24/2016
/ Bargaining Units ,
Brown University ,
Colleges ,
Educational Institutions ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Popular ,
Student Employees ,
Teachers ,
Unions ,
Universities
On August 1, 2016, the United States Department of Education’s Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services and Office of Special Education Programs issued a Dear Colleague Letter suggesting that, in many cases, a...more
Two recent cases, one from the National Labor Relations Board, and one from a federal court of appeals enforcing an NLRB decision, highlight the risk an employer runs when it seeks to prohibit its employees from wearing...more
On May 11, 2016, President Obama signed the Defend Trade Secrets Act which had been overwhelmingly passed by the U.S. House of Representatives on April 27, 2016, after having previously been passed by the Senate. The Act...more
5/16/2016
/ Asset Seizure ,
Confidential Information ,
Defend Trade Secrets Act (DTSA) ,
Economic Espionage Act ,
Ex Parte ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Misappropriation ,
New Legislation ,
Private Right of Action ,
Trade Secrets ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies
As we previously reported, in July 2015, the United States Supreme Court decided to hear an appeal of a case from the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit regarding the legality of “fair share” fees for public...more
The National Labor Relations Board conducts representation elections by manual voting, where voters cast their ballots in a voting booth, by mail voting, where voters mail their ballots to an NLRB regional office, or a...more
When the Chicago Board of Education refused to arbitrate grievances concerning its “do not hire” policy, it did not violate the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Act according to the Illinois Supreme Court. This case...more
Union organizing directed at religious college and university faculties has gained momentum since the National Labor Relations Board (“Board”) issued its decision in Pacific Lutheran University (“PLU”) in 2014. In PLU, the...more
In its 2011 Specialty Healthcare decision, the National Labor Relations Board revised the test it applies in determining whether a union’s petitioned-for unit is appropriate. In Specialty Healthcare, the NLRB explained that...more
On October 22, 2015, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the National Labor Relations Board’s (NLRB) decision that Triple Play Sports Bar and Grille (Employer) violated Section 8(a)(1) of the National Labor Relations...more
10/29/2015
/ Defamation ,
Employment Policies ,
Facebook ,
Hiring & Firing ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Online Platforms ,
Protected Concerted Activity ,
Social Media ,
Social Media Policy ,
Social Networks
The end of the federal government fiscal year (September 30) always produces a flurry of activity from the EEOC, and this year was no different. Of the 157 lawsuits filed by the EEOC in fiscal year 2015, approximately 62 of...more
10/22/2015
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Disability ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Gender Discrimination ,
Genetic Discrimination ,
GINA ,
LGBTQ ,
Medical Records ,
Title VII ,
Transgender ,
Young Lawyers
On September 30, 2015, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed, in part, a district court’s ruling that some of the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s (NCAA) compensation rules were unlawful restraints on trade in...more
10/13/2015
/ Appeals ,
College Athletes ,
Colleges ,
Deferred Compensation ,
Educational Institutions ,
Name and Likeness ,
NCAA ,
O'Bannon v NCAA ,
Paying For College ,
Rule-of-Reason Analysis ,
Sherman Act ,
Student Athletes ,
Wage and Hour
As we reported earlier, on December 15, 2014, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) adopted a Final Rule that modified its processing of representation cases. See, 79 Fed. Reg. at 74308. As part of this rule, the NLRB...more