Steven Bernstein on NLRA

What Employers Need to Know About the Current State of the NLRB

A series of game-changing moves from the White House have left employers struggling to understand the lay of the land when it comes to the nation’s labor law. Even though it might feel like we’re entering unchartered...more

2/5/2025 / Best Practices , Collective Bargaining , Corporate Counsel , Employee Rights , Employment Policies , Labor Relations , NLRA , NLRB , NLRB General Counsel , Protected Concerted Activity , Trump Administration , Unfair Labor Practices , Unions

Federal Appeals Court Narrows Labor Board’s Ability to Award Money to Workers

A federal appeals court just clipped the wings of the National Labor Relations Board by limiting its authority to impose monetary remedies against employers. In a significant decision that could soon reverberate around the...more

12/31/2024 / Administrative Authority , Appeals , Back Pay , Consequential Damages , Corporate Counsel , Employee Benefits , Employer Liability Issues , Labor Law Violations , Lost Wages , NLRA , NLRB , Starbucks , Statutory Interpretation , Wage and Hour

The End of Mandatory Captive Audience Meetings? 5 Tips for Adapting to the NLRB’s Latest Departure from Decades of Past Precedent

The National Labor Relations Board just banned mandatory employee meetings for purposes of discussing the subject of union representation – so-called “captive audience” meetings – and placed new restrictions on an employer’s...more

11/14/2024 / Coercion , Employer Liability Issues , Free Speech , NLRA , NLRB , Unfair Labor Practices , Union Representatives , Unions

Illinois Joins Trend to Ban “Captive Audience” Meetings: 5 Steps Employers Can Take to Comply

Illinois just became the latest state to ban employers from holding mandatory meetings with employees concerning religious or political matters, including discussions on union representation. Such employer-sponsored meetings,...more

8/7/2024 / Corporate Counsel , Employee Rights , Employer Liability Issues , Employment Policies , Illinois , Labor Reform , Labor Relations , NLRA , NLRB , State Labor Laws , Union Representatives , Unions

Labor Board Rules in Jeopardy in the Post-Chevron Era: What Employers Need to Know

The Supreme Court’s recent landmark ruling that gives employers a powerful tool to fight back against regulatory overreach will have a broad impact on just about every area of workplace law. We’re looking at the specific...more

7/12/2024 / Administrative Procedure Act , Chevron Deference , Corporate Counsel , Government Agencies , Loper Bright Enterprises v Raimondo , NLRA , NLRB , SCOTUS , Statute of Limitations , Statutory Interpretation

Employers May Face More Liability for Unlawful Work Rules Under NLRB General Counsel’s New Memo: Key Points and What You Can Do to...

Employers should review their handbooks and workplace conduct policies in light of a new development that could greatly expand the penalties for unfair labor practice charges. The NLRB’s General Counsel just issued a memo on...more

4/23/2024 / Employee Handbooks , Employee Rights , Employer Liability Issues , Employment Policies , NLRA , NLRB , NLRB General Counsel , Protected Concerted Activity , Section 7 , Unfair Labor Practices

We Know What the NLRB Did Last Summer: 7 Recent Labor Board Moves That Could Haunt You This Fall and Beyond

As fall creeps up on us — and you trade your beach days and barbeques for hayrides and horror flicks — don’t forget about all the activity from the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) this past summer that could cause...more

10/2/2023 / Employer Liability Issues , Employment Contract , Employment Policies , Hiring & Firing , Independent Contractors , NLRA , NLRB , Non-Compete Agreements , Protected Concerted Activity , Union Elections , Union Organizers , Unions

The Return of Quickie Union Elections: Top 10 Things Employers Need to Know About Labor Board’s Broad New Rule

Employers were dealt yet another blow Thursday when the National Labor Relations Board re-introduced “quickie” elections and accelerated the time period between union petitions and elections. This is just one of the changes...more

8/28/2023 / Bargaining Units , Labor Relations , New Rules , NLRA , NLRB , Quickie Election Rules , Union Elections , Unions

Labor Board Issues a Blow to Workplace Conduct Policies: Here’s How Your Employee Handbook May Need to Change Today

The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) just changed the law again on employee handbooks by modifying the legal standards that for the past six years have provided a commonsense solution for evaluating workplace misconduct...more

8/3/2023 / Corporate Counsel , Employee Handbooks , Employee Rights , Employment Policies , NLRA , NLRB , Protected Concerted Activity , Section 7

Many Non-Compete Agreements Violate Federal Law According to NLRB’s Chief Prosecutor: Your Top 7 Questions Answered

Employers should review their non-compete agreements now that the NLRB General Counsel announced that many of them violate federal labor law – regardless of whether you have a unionized workforce. General Counsel Jennifer...more

6/1/2023 / Corporate Counsel , Federal Labor Laws , NLRA , NLRB , NLRB General Counsel , Non-Compete Agreements , Restrictive Covenants , Section 7 , Unfair Labor Practices

What NLRB’s New Collaboration with Consumer Financial Agency Means for Gig Economy Businesses

If your business relies on gig economy workers, you may want to review your policies on monitoring workers and requiring them to pay for training and equipment. That’s because the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB)...more

3/10/2023 / Business Expenses , Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) , Data Collection , Electronic Monitoring , Employee Privacy Rights , Employee Training , Employer Liability Issues , Gig Economy , Independent Contractors , Labor Relations , Misclassification , NLRA , NLRB

Employers Must Draft Severance Agreements with Caution After NLRB Renders Critical Provisions Unlawful: 9 Crucial Questions...

A pendulum-swinging decision from the National Labor Relations Board yesterday means that severance agreements – in both unionized and non-union workplaces – could once again be deemed unlawful if they could be construed to...more

2/22/2023 / Confidentiality Agreements , Corporate Counsel , Employee Rights , Employer Liability Issues , Hiring & Firing , NLRA , NLRB , Non-Disparagement Provisions , Protected Concerted Activity , Section 7 , Severance Agreements , Unfair Labor Practices

NLRB Resurrects Controversial Standard Giving Unions More Leeway to Organize ‘Micro Units’

The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) just made it easier for labor unions to organize smaller bargaining units known as “micro units” that can include small sub-sets of the overall workforce. The Board’s move, which...more

12/16/2022 / NLRA , NLRB , Unions

NLRB General Counsel Announces Plans to Crack Down on Workplace Monitoring Practices

The top lawyer from the National Labor Relations Board recently announced that agency investigators should target workplace surveillance and “algorithmic management” technologies that have a “tendency” to interfere with...more

11/8/2022 / Employee Monitoring , Employee Rights , Employee Tracking , Employer Liability Issues , NLRA , NLRB , NLRB General Counsel , Surveillance

It’s Time to Revisit Your Handbook Rules as Labor Board Takes Aim at Workplace Civility and Workplace Conduct

The National Labor Relations Board is actively looking to modify the legal standards that for the past five years have provided a commonsense solution for evaluating the legality of commonplace workplace misconduct rules. And...more

4/20/2022 / Employee Handbooks , Employee Rights , Employment Policies , NLRA , NLRB , Protected Concerted Activity , Section 7

NLRB’s Top Sheriff Calls for Abrupt End to 75 Years of Lawful “Captive Audience” Meetings

The NLRB’s top prosecutor just issued a memo which seeks to bar employers from convening employee meetings on working time to address union representation unless they provide employees specific assurances that participation...more

4/12/2022 / Free Speech , NLRA , NLRB , NLRB General Counsel , Union Representatives , Unions

A Resurrected PRO Act Could Pay Dividends For Big Labor This Time Around

As we recently forecasted, the House of Representatives has reintroduced a bill designed to radically transform the labor relations landscape, substantially tilting the playing field towards organized labor. The “Protecting...more

The Realities Of Mandating COVID-19 Vaccination For Unionized Employees

The Food and Drug Administration has now approved two different mRNA COVID-19 vaccines (Moderna and Pfizer) under the FDA’s Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) to be distributed in the U.S. for use in persons 18 years of age...more

1/27/2021 / Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBA) , Coronavirus/COVID-19 , Employment Policies , Infectious Diseases , NLRA , Unions , Vaccinations , Workplace Safety

Will Big Labor’s Big Wishlist Return For 2021? The Implications Of A Resurrected PRO Act On Businesses Large And Small

When the House of Representatives passed the PRO Act last year with the aim of overhauling federal labor law for the benefit of organized labor, we predicted the legislation would stall in the face of the Republican Senate...more

1/18/2021 / Employee Rights , Employer Rights , Federal Labor Laws , Gig Economy , Independent Contractors , Labor Regulations , Legislative Agendas , NLRA , Section 7 , Union Organizers , Unions

NLRB Upholds Ban On Use Of Company Email For Union Organizing

The National Labor Relations Board took the opportunity last week to double down on its recent reversal of the Purple Communications doctrine, holding that T-Mobile USA did not violate federal labor law by implementing a rule...more

6/2/2020 / Electronic Communications , Email , Email Policies , Employer Liability Issues , Federal Labor Laws , Information Technology , NLRA , NLRB , Purple Communications , Reversal , Section 7 , T-Mobile , Union Organizers , Unions

Federal Court Blocks Labor Board’s New Union Election Rules

On the eve of their scheduled implementation date, a federal court judge in Washington, D.C. struck down significant portions of the National Labor Relation’s Board new union representation procedures – handing a significant...more

6/1/2020 / Administrative Procedure Act , Employer Liability Issues , Labor Relations , NLRA , NLRB , Notice and Comment , Quickie Election Rules , Union Representatives , Unions

5 Things You Need To Know About The Labor Board’s New Joint Employment Rule

The National Labor Relations Board just published a final rule that will soon fundamentally alter the definition of joint employment, making it more difficult for businesses to be held legally responsible for alleged labor...more

2/26/2020 / Burden of Proof , Corporate Counsel , Employee Benefits , Employer Liability Issues , Employment Contract , Franchises , Hiring & Firing , Joint Employers , New Rules , NLRA , NLRB , Staffing Agencies , Terms and Conditions , Wage and Hour

Balance Restored: The NLRB Curtails “Quickie Election” Rule

At the end stages of lone Democrat Board Member McFerran’s term, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) Friday, December 13th, issued the first of what may be a number of rulings in the form of a procedural regulation...more

12/16/2019 / Due Process , Final Rules , NLRA , NLRB , Quickie Election Rules , Union Elections , Union Representatives , Unions

Labor Board Further Tightens Union Access To Employer Property

Labor Board Further Tightens Union Access To Employer Property - In yet another ruling that levels the labor relations playing field, the National Labor Relations Board ruled on Friday that employers could rightfully...more

9/10/2019 / Anti-Discrimination Policies , Employee Rights , Employer Liability Issues , Employment Policies , Labor Relations , NLRA , NLRB , Non-Solicitation Agreements , Private Property , Property Access , Union Organizers , Union Representatives , Unions

Answers To Employer Questions In Wake Of Threatened ICE Raids

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) threatened to start to carry out a series of immigration raids this weekend seeking to identify and apprehend undocumented individuals – with some potentially occurring at the...more

7/16/2019 / Audits , Employee Training , Employer Liability Issues , Employment Eligibility Verification , Enforcement Actions , Form I-9 , Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) , Immigration Enforcement , NLRA , Raids , Search Warrant , Undocumented Immigrants

Steven Bernstein

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