The National Labor Relations Board’s (NLRB) General Counsel, Crystal Carey, has issued updated guidance aimed at promoting fair, efficient, and consistent enforcement of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). Although...more
Union organizing activity took a clear downturn in 2025, driven by a combination of economic uncertainty and shifting federal oversight. New data from Bloomberg Law shows that the number of union elections dropped sharply in...more
Workers at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago just ratified their first union contract. Elsewhere in the city, employees at the Adler Planetarium voted last Thursday in favor of forming a union. But the trend of...more
Is an employer's comment to a pro-union employee that “if you're not happy at the company, you can go work for another company” an illegal threat under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA)? The Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of...more
Although employers cannot routinely rely on “special circumstances” to restrict employee expression in the workplace, a recent federal court decision confirmed that employees’ rights in this area are not unlimited....more
Congratulations to the 2025 World Series Champions, the Los Angeles Dodgers. Their dramatic Game 7 win over the Toronto Blue Jays completed their quest for the rare baseball accomplishment of back-to-back championships. One...more
The Ninth Circuit issued a reminder to all employers that employees discussing wages generally qualifies as protected activity under Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). Accordingly, all employers need to be...more
It has been seven months since the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB or Board) has had the three-member quorum needed to issue decisions. The last decisions issued by the Board were from a brief period in March 2025 when...more
The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to revisit the scope of the “transportation worker” exemption under the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA). The exemption — found in Section 1 of the FAA — carves out certain workers from the...more
Welcome to the fifth edition of The Leisure Law Insider! Released quarterly, we cover the latest news and developments in leisure and hospitality law, regulation, and policy. Expect content on hotels, franchising, labor and...more
1/24/2025
/ Antitrust Provisions ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Employee Training ,
Employment Policies ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Hidden Fees ,
Hospitality Industry ,
Hotels ,
New Legislation ,
New York ,
NLRB ,
Property Managers ,
Unions ,
Whistleblowers ,
Workplace Safety
The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB or Board) has been using a caffeinated approach to challenge employers in unfair labor practice disputes, with Section 10(j) injunction petitions at the top of the menu, often...more
8/14/2024
/ Employees ,
Employment Litigation ,
Labor Relations ,
Multi-Factor Test ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Starbucks ,
Unfair Labor Practices ,
Union Organizers ,
Unions
Employers, whether they have unionized employees or not, must navigate the aftermath of another change in the ever-evolving landscape of labor law. A recent National Labor Relations Board (NLRB or Board) decision has sent...more
Anyone who has been watching the news lately has probably noticed a recent uptick in stories about child labor. What is causing this increased attention? The Department of Labor’s (DOL) increased focus on child labor is...more
The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB or Board) is making waves yet again. This time the NLRB has held that certain confidentiality and non-disparagement clauses in severance agreements violate Section 7 rights under the...more
3/3/2023
/ Confidentiality Agreements ,
Contract Terms ,
Employee Handbooks ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Policies ,
Former Employee ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Labor Reform ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Non-Disparagement Provisions ,
Section 7 ,
Severance Agreements
Imagine this: a nurse leaves the operating room during spinal surgery to participate in a union action, the employer terminates the nurse, and the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) holds that the employer violated federal...more
1/4/2023
/ Employee Monitoring ,
Employee Rights ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Labor Disputes ,
Labor Relations ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Protected Concerted Activity ,
Section 7 ,
Surveillance ,
Unfair Labor Practices ,
Unions
Imagine this, an employee writes profanity (“whore board”) on a company bulletin board, the employer terminates the employee for the profanity, and the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) holds that the employee’s...more
Last year we warned that the NLRB pendulum was swinging pro-union, but even we could not have predicted just how swiftly the pendulum swing would happen. In the past year alone, General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo of the...more
When President Biden took office in 2021, he vowed to be the “most pro-union president” this country has ever seen. Although President Biden was unable to deliver some key worker legislation during his first year in office,...more
Consider this: the General Counsel of the National Labor Relations Board has opined that some student-athletes at the collegiate level are “employees” for purposes of the right to engage in protected concerted activity, and...more
11/15/2021
/ Brand ,
Collective Bargaining ,
College Athletes ,
Compensation ,
Educational Institutions ,
Employee Rights ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Labor Reform ,
Name and Likeness ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
NLRB General Counsel ,
Protected Concerted Activity ,
Section 7 ,
Student Athletes
Texas employers of ALL sizes should be aware that Texas has significantly expanded employee protection for sexual harassment claims with two new bills signed into law by Governor Abbott. The first opens the door for Texas...more
7/26/2021
/ #MeToo ,
Anti-Harassment Policies ,
Corporate Culture ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Harassment ,
Hostile Environment ,
Labor Reform ,
Labor Regulations ,
New Legislation ,
Sexual Harassment ,
State Labor Laws ,
Statute of Limitations
Last month, President Biden rolled out “the American Families Plan,” a proposal that would phase in paid family and medical leave for employees with certain medical and family obligations. The proposal would cost around $225...more