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 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
The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has proposed rescinding portions of its 2020 union representation procedures on blocking charges, voluntary recognition bar, and construction industry collective bargaining...more
The National Labor Relations Board has proposed reversing the current joint-employer standard, which took effect on April 27, 2020. The new rule would revert to the Obama-era standard for determining joint-employer status...more
10/10/2022
/ Airports ,
Architects ,
Collective Bargaining ,
Food Service Workers ,
Joint Employers ,
MLB ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Railways ,
SMART ,
Strike ,
Supply Chain ,
Unions ,
Wage and Hour
Noting the employer did not have an employee code of conduct policy prohibiting the use of derogatory language, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) held an automotive dealership violated the National Labor Relations Act...more
Labor Day 2022 comes at an optimistic time for U.S. labor unions. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, representation petitions and elections were declining steadily. However, National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) election filings...more
1. Compensation in non-union jobs is outpacing compensation in union-represented jobs. A Bureau of Labor and Statistics report indicates the total wage and benefit costs for private-sector nonunionized employers was 3% higher...more
9/12/2022
/ Collective Bargaining ,
Compensation ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Legal Fees ,
NLRB ,
Reimbursements ,
Teamsters ,
Unions ,
Wage and Hour ,
Willful Misconduct
On August 29, 2022, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) issued a decision finding that absent special circumstances, employers may not enforce dress codes or uniform policies that interfere with employees’ right to...more
1. The National Labor Relations Board clarified its rerun election procedures in cases of uncontested election misconduct. Dynamic Concepts, 371 NLRB No. 117 (July 22, 2022). After losing an election to represent the...more
8/11/2022
/ AFL-CIO ,
Antitrust Division ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Memorandum of Understanding ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Union Elections ,
Unions ,
United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) ,
Wage and Hour