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
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
The NLRB recently issued a pair of advice memos governing the obligation of parties to engage in remote collective bargaining and to negotiate over the concept of hazard pay in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. These...more
This article addresses many employment-related issues facing employers in the wake of hurricane-related disasters; consequently, in addition to federal laws, we also focus on certain state laws, especially those in the areas...more
8/21/2020
/ Business Closures ,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Charitable Donations ,
COBRA ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Covered Employees ,
Data Privacy ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Force Majeure Clause ,
Foreign Workers ,
Form I-9 ,
H-1B ,
Health and Safety ,
Health Insurance ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Health Plan Sponsors ,
Highly-Skilled Workers Visa ,
HIPAA Privacy Rule ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Hurricane Season ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Labor Relations ,
Medical Leave ,
Military Leave ,
Military Service Members ,
Natural Disasters ,
NLRB ,
OSHA ,
Retirement ,
Retirement Plan ,
Retirement Plan Providers ,
State Labor Laws ,
Unemployment Benefits ,
Unemployment Compensation System ,
Unions ,
USCIS ,
USERRA ,
Visa Applications ,
Visas ,
Volunteers ,
Wage and Hour ,
Workplace Hazards ,
Workplace Injury ,
Workplace Safety
Addressing the issue for the first time since the pandemic, the National Labor Relations Board recently released a series of advice memoranda instructing its Regional offices to dismiss various COVID-19 related charges...more
8/19/2020
/ Adverse Employment Action ,
Business Closures ,
Collective Bargaining ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Duty to Bargain ,
Employer Rights ,
Hazard Pay ,
Health and Safety ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Lay-Offs ,
New Guidance ,
NLRB ,
Paid Sick Leave ,
Protected Concerted Activity ,
Retaliation ,
Unions ,
Wage and Hour ,
Workplace Safety
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
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
Although the new Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES ACT) contains important help for businesses, it also presents potentially significant labor issues for any mid-size company (500 to 10,000 employees)...more
The Fisher Phillips COVID-19 Taskforce has assembled this guidance document, containing answers to a series of Frequently Asked Questions, especially designed for unionized employers. The Taskforce also maintains a...more
3/23/2020
/ Collective Bargaining ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) ,
Force Majeure Clause ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Information Requests ,
Unfair Labor Practices ,
Union Elections ,
Unions ,
Wage and Hour ,
Work Schedules ,
Workplace Safety
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
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
The U.S. Department of Labor just became the latest federal agency to propose a rule to limit the scope of joint employment liability, this time for wage and hour matters. If the rule released earlier yesterday is adopted in...more
4/2/2019
/ Browning-Ferris Industries of California Inc. ,
Comment Period ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Joint Employers ,
Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act (MSPA) ,
NLRB ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Proposed Rules ,
Terms and Conditions ,
Unions ,
Wage and Hour
In a significant ruling which will benefit companies, the National Labor Relations Board on January 25th, revised the test it uses for determining whether workers are employees or independent contractors by making it easier...more
It’s hard to keep up with all the recent changes to labor and employment law. While the law always seems to evolve at a rapid pace, there have been an unprecedented number of changes for the past few years—and this past month...more
10/11/2018
/ #MeToo ,
Background Checks ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Epic Systems Corp v Lewis ,
Governor Brown ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Joint Employers ,
Lactation Accommodation ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Non-Disclosure Agreement ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Unions
The National Labor Relations Board recently announced an expansion of its alternative dispute resolution (ADR) program: the free program for employers, unions, and individual participants puts a case on hold for 30 days while...more
Employee walkouts and protests are likely to occur on a large scale starting yesterday and lasting through Thursday, spurred on by the union-supported “Fight for $15” movement and in anticipation of the upcoming midterm...more
10/3/2018
/ Attendance ,
Caregivers ,
Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBA) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Rights ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Employment Policies ,
Fast-Food Industry ,
Hospitality Industry ,
Janitorial Services ,
Minimum Wage ,
NLRA ,
Private Property ,
Professors ,
Protected Concerted Activity ,
Protests ,
Restaurant Industry ,
SEIU ,
Social Media Policy ,
Strike ,
Unions ,
Wage and Hour
With the Senate’s confirmation of John Ring to the National Labor Relations Board on April 11 and the administration’s subsequent announcement on April 12 that he will be designated as the agency’s Chair, the Board is once...more
In the clearest sign yet that the National Labor Relations Board is ready to shift away from the strong pro-union stance that had been taken for the previous eight years, the agency today announced that it will seek public...more
The newly installed General Counsel for the National Labor Relations Board published a memorandum late last week indicating that the General Counsel is preparing to push to reverse many of the controversial positions taken...more
12/5/2017
/ Back Pay ,
Contract Disputes ,
Dues Checkoff ,
Email Policies ,
Employee Handbooks ,
Employment Contract ,
Front Pay ,
Joint Employers ,
Memorandum of Guidance ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
NLRB General Counsel ,
Protected Concerted Activity ,
Rescission ,
Settlement Agreements ,
Social Media Policy ,
Stop Work Orders ,
Unions ,
Witness Statements
It’s hard to keep up with all the recent changes to labor and employment law. While the law always seems to evolve at a rapid pace, there have been an unprecedented number of changes each month in 2017. August was no...more
9/9/2017
/ Affirmative Action ,
Appeals ,
Audio Recording ,
Class Action ,
Classification ,
College Admissions ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Data Breach ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
EEO-1 ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Gig Economy ,
Green Cards ,
Hardship Distributions ,
Hurricane Harvey ,
Identity Theft ,
Independent Contractors ,
NLRB ,
On-Demand Services ,
Online Platforms ,
Over-Time ,
Pay Data ,
Popular ,
Standing ,
Trump Administration ,
Unions ,
Vetting ,
Wage and Hour ,
Wellness Programs
Among the most crucial federal agencies undergoing a transformation under the new presidential administration is the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). During the eight years of the Obama administration, with the Board...more
9/6/2017
/ Banner Health System ,
Bargaining Units ,
Browning-Ferris Industries of California Inc. ,
Civility ,
Class Action Arbitration Waivers ,
Collective Bargaining ,
Columbia University ,
Confidentiality Policies ,
Corporate Counsel ,
D.R. Horton v NLRB ,
Email Policies ,
Employee Handbooks ,
Employment Policies ,
Internal Investigations ,
Joint Employers ,
Labor Relations ,
Micro-Unions ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Presidential Appointments ,
Purple Communications ,
Quickie Election Rules ,
Section 7 ,
Specialty Healthcare ,
Student Athletes ,
Temporary Employees ,
Trump Administration ,
Unions
May Day has historically been a day marked by workers’ rights protests, with union organizing activities and other employee advocacy actions taking place across the country on what is now known as “International Workers’...more
4/24/2017
/ Adverse Employment Action ,
Immigrants ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Protests ,
Public Relations ,
SEIU ,
Strike ,
Trump Administration ,
Unfair Labor Practices ,
Unions ,
Workplace Communication
In yet another blow to employers, a National Labor Relations Board Administrative Law Judge recently upheld the right of employees who regularly work with customers to wear offensive union buttons prominently displaying the...more
In today’s 3-1 decision, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) resurrected a union-friendly standard making it easier for unions to combine jointly employed temporary workers with an employer’s existing workforce to form...more
Employee walkouts and protests are likely to occur on a massive scale across the country on Tuesday, November 10, spurred on by the union-supported “Fight for $15” movement. Low-wage workers seeking higher pay and possible...more
11/6/2015
/ Best Management Practices ,
Browning-Ferris Industries of California Inc. ,
Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBA) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Fast-Food Industry ,
Joint Employers ,
Minimum Wage ,
NLRB ,
Restaurant Industry ,
Right to Control ,
SEIU ,
Strike ,
Unions