1. The Senate confirmed Jennifer Abruzzo to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) General Counsel post and Gwynne Wilcox and David Prouty as NLRB members. Approved on July 21 by a narrow 51-50 vote, with Vice President...more
8/23/2021
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Email Policies ,
First Amendment ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
NLRB General Counsel ,
Union Organizers ,
Unions ,
USPS ,
Vaccinations ,
Virus Testing
The New York City Council amended New York City’s Fair Chance Act (FCA) to significantly expand the scope of protections for applicants and employees with criminal charges or arrests. The amendments are effective on July 29,...more
1. The U.S. Supreme Court held California’s union access regulation constitutes an unconstitutional taking of an employer’s property. Cedar Point Nursery v. Hassid, 141 S.Ct. 891 (June 23, 2021). The California Agricultural...more
7/19/2021
/ Agricultural Workers ,
Cedar Point Nursery v Hassid ,
Corporate Counsel ,
GAO ,
Joe Biden ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
NLRB General Counsel ,
SCOTUS ,
Unfair Labor Practices ,
Unions
After the May passage of the New York Health and Essential Rights Act (HERO Act), and June amendments, the New York State Department of Labor (DOL) has issued guidance including the model general standard and model airborne...more
With 70 percent of adult New Yorkers having received at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose, as of June 15, 2021, New York lifted restrictions imposed on most industries under the NY Forward and COVID-19 Safety Plan rules that...more
President Joe Biden has nominated union-side attorney Gwynne Wilcox to fill a vacant seat on the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). Wilcox is a partner at the union-side labor and employment firm Levy Ratner P.C. Among...more
6/16/2021
/ Arbitration ,
Boeing ,
Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBA) ,
Credit Unions ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Rights ,
Joe Biden ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Nominations ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Unions ,
Wage and Hour
Amendments to New York’s Health and Essential Rights Act (HERO Act) give the state Department of Labor more time, until July 5, 2021, to create industry-specific model safety standards and to clarify when employers must...more
On June 8, 2021, New York State updated the NY Forward Guidance for several industries, including office-based and food services employers, with changes that many people feel are overdue...more
On May 11, 2021, the City Council of New York enacted a local law to establish a retirement savings program for certain employees of private entities.
What are the Details?
The new law creates a mandatory...more
The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) declined to modify its “contract bar” rule. Under NLRB procedure, once a collective bargaining agreement (CBA) is executed, the Board will not process a request for a representation...more
New York employers may need to change their approach to workplace health and safety rules significantly under the New York Health and Essential Rights Act (HERO Act), signed by Governor Andrew Cuomo on May 5, 2021...more
5/14/2021
/ Best Practices ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Enforcement ,
Governor Cuomo ,
Health and Essential Rights (HERO) Act ,
Health and Safety ,
Masks ,
OSH Act ,
OSHA ,
Risk Management ,
Safety Programs ,
Social Distancing ,
State and Local Government ,
Workplace Safety
1. On March 31, 2021, National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) Acting General Counsel Peter Sung Ohr issued a memorandum stating his office will return to “vigorous enforcement” of employee rights under Section 7 rights of the...more
Changes to Philadelphia law will further restrict employers’ use and reliance on applicant, current employee, and independent contractor background information and affect the employee application and employee management...more
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo signed legislation legalizing recreational marijuana on March 31, 2021. The legalized use of marijuana is effective immediately, even though retail sales of marijuana are not expected to begin...more
4/2/2021
/ Cannabis Products ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Drug Testing ,
DUI ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Governor Cuomo ,
Marijuana Regulation & Taxation Act (MRTA) ,
Medical Marijuana ,
New Legislation ,
Off-Duty Employees ,
Recreational Use
Effective immediately, New York State employers must provide employees with up to four hours of paid time off per COVID-19 vaccination. The new law sunsets on December 31, 2022...more
3/15/2021
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Health and Safety ,
New York ,
Paid Leave ,
Popular ,
State and Local Government ,
Vaccinations ,
Wage and Hour ,
Workplace Safety
1. On February 4, House and Senate Democrats introduced the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act. The sponsors described the bill as comprehensive labor legislation aimed at bolstering workers’ collective bargaining...more
3/11/2021
/ Appellate Courts ,
Biden Administration ,
Collective Bargaining ,
Employee Rights ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Labor Disputes ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
NLRB General Counsel ,
Right to Strike ,
State Labor Laws ,
Unions ,
Wage and Hour
1. President Joe Biden summarily removed National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) General Counsel (GC) Peter Robb from office on January 20, 2021, and removed Robb’s deputy, Alice Stock the following day. On January 25, 2021,...more
3/1/2021
/ Bureau of Labor Statistics ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Financial Reporting ,
Joe Biden ,
Minimum Wage ,
NLRB ,
NLRB General Counsel ,
Nominations ,
Secretary of Labor ,
State Labor Laws ,
Unions ,
Wage and Hour
1. Directing a union election among dockworkers and clerks at a California distribution center, a National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) official rejected the employer’s argument that an appropriate unit must also include...more
Following Mayor Bill de Blasio’s non-action on the bill passed by the New York City Council in December expanding the scope of New York City’s Fair Chance Act (FCA), the amendments have become law. The amendments, which go...more
On January 5, 2021, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio signed into law two pieces of legislation passed by the New York City Council, Int. No. 1415-A and Int. No 1396-A, that, when effective in early July 2021, will impose...more
The New York City Council passed a bill expanding the scope of New York City’s Fair Chance Act (FCA). The bill significantly extends employment protections for applicants and employees with criminal charges or arrests. New...more
1. The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) provided guidance on the propriety of mail or manual ballot elections. Aspirus Keweenaw, 370 NLRB No. 45 (Nov. 9, 2020). In this case, the NLRB set forth the considerations...more
The New York City Council has passed two bills, Int. No. 1415-A and Int. No 1396-A, that, when enacted and effective, will impose significant obligations on covered New York City fast food industry employers.
These bills...more
The New York State Paid Sick Leave Law and the amendments to the New York City Paid Safe and Sick Leave Law expanding employees’ paid sick leave entitlements will go into full effect on January 1, 2021.
The state law went...more
1. Thus far in 2020, unions prevailed in mail ballot elections at the same rate as in-person elections. According to an October 16 Bloomberg report, although voter participation was low, unions won seven out of 10 National...more
11/18/2020
/ 401k ,
Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBA) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Mail-In Ballots ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Office of Administrative Law Judges (OALJ) ,
State Labor Laws ,
Unions ,
Wage and Hour