On November 10, 2021, General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo issued a memorandum outlining bargaining obligations under OSHA’s Emergency Temporary Standard to Protect Workers from Coronavirus (“ETS”). Responding to Inquiries...more
11/11/2021
/ Collective Bargaining ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Covered Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Mandates ,
Infectious Diseases ,
New Rules ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
NLRB General Counsel ,
OSHA ,
Vaccinations ,
Virus Testing ,
Workplace Safety
Yesterday, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), along with the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), announced the creation of an interagency initiative to raise...more
As we discussed here, members of the House Education and Labor Committee have been attempting to end-run the procedural hurdles that have prevented the Protect the Right to Organize Act (“PRO Act”) legislation from becoming...more
10/29/2021
/ Budget Reconciliation ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
Labor Reform ,
Labor Regulations ,
Labor Relations ,
Legislative Agendas ,
NLRA ,
Penalties ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Violations ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Unfair Labor Practices ,
Unions
Effective as of October 5, 2021, Int. 2397-2021 requires operators of “transient hotels” (as defined by Section 12-10 of the New York City zoning resolutions) to pay their employees severance pay if: 1. the hotel closed to...more
Yesterday, General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo issued a very significant memorandum on the status of college athletes as “employees” under the National Labor Relations Act. Statutory Rights of Players at Academic Institutions...more
9/30/2021
/ College Athletes ,
Colleges ,
Compensation ,
Employee Definition ,
Labor Reform ,
Labor Regulations ,
Misclassification ,
NCAA ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
NLRB General Counsel ,
Sports ,
Student Athletes
General Counsel of the National Labor Relations Board, Jennifer Abruzzo, is already on her way to accomplishing one of the objectives she laid out in her recent Advice-Memorandum 21-04. In the GC’s memo, she identified a...more
9/10/2021
/ Employee Rights ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
NLRB ,
NLRB General Counsel ,
Private Property ,
Property Owners ,
Right of Access ,
Solicitation ,
Unfair Labor Practices ,
Union Organizers ,
Union Representatives ,
Unions
As we have discussed in previous posts, the Protect the Right to Organize Act (“PRO Act”), which would drastically and fundamentally change the nature and scope of the National Labor Relations Act (“NLRA”) and...more
9/10/2021
/ Budget Reconciliation ,
Federal Budget ,
Labor Reform ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Lockouts ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Penalties ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Right to Strike ,
Unfair Labor Practices ,
Union Organizers ,
Unions
In keeping with the momentum of her Office, National Labor Relations Board General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo issued a memorandum yesterday to all Regional Offices advising them to request that the Board exercise its broad...more
The recently-sworn in General Counsel of the National Labor Relations Board, Jennifer Abruzzo, has had a busy month, setting the stage for a slate of new enforcement initiatives. First, the GC issued Advice Memorandum 21-04...more
The NLRB’s “contract coverage” standard for determining whether a collective bargaining agreement privileges an employer to unilaterally change terms and conditions of employment received support last week from a federal...more
8/18/2021
/ Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ,
Collective Bargaining ,
Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBA) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
General Contractors ,
Labor Regulations ,
Labor Relations ,
NLRB ,
Unfair Labor Practices ,
Unions ,
Wage and Hour ,
Work Schedules
Less than a month after being sworn in as the new General Counsel of the NLRB, Jennifer Abruzzo defined a bold new direction for the Board’s enforcement priorities in a memo issued on August 12, 2021. The memo, Mandatory...more
8/16/2021
/ Employee Handbooks ,
Employee Rights ,
Independent Contractors ,
Labor Relations ,
Misclassification ,
NLRB ,
NLRB General Counsel ,
Protected Concerted Activity ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Right to Strike ,
Strategic Enforcement Plan ,
Union Dues ,
Unions ,
Weingarten Rights
A split Board concluded this week that a union did not engage in unlawful secondary activity under the NLRA when it stationed a 12-foot-tall inflatable rat—known all too well by employers as “Scabby the Rat”—and two 8-foot...more
After being nominated by President Biden on February 17, 2021, Jennifer Abruzzo was sworn in as General Counsel of the NLRB yesterday by Chairman Lauren McFerran. Abruzzo will serve a four-year term as General Counsel,...more
As we reported here and here, there are several challenges to the authority of the Acting General Counsel of the National Labor Relations Board, Peter Sung Ohr, given President Biden’s unprecedented move of terminating the...more
7/16/2021
/ Administrative Appointments ,
Appointments Clause ,
Biden Administration ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Labor Reform ,
Labor Regulations ,
Labor Relations ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
NLRB General Counsel ,
Unfair Labor Practices
Last week, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit overturned a decision by the NLRB dismissing a complaint against two joint employers alleging unlawful termination in retaliation for picketing activity. The...more
On April 30, 2021, in National Association of Broadcast Employees & Technicians, 370 NLRB No. 114 (2021), the Board declined to opine on the validity of President Biden’s termination of former General Counsel Peter Robb and...more
On Monday, April 26, 2021, the White House released a press briefing detailing the establishment of a new White House Task Force on Worker Organizing and Empowerment (the “Task Force”). The Task Force, which the White House...more
On April 21, 2021, the National Labor Relations Board (the “Board”) declined to eliminate or modify its long-standing contract-bar doctrine, which purports to provide stability in the relationship among the employer, a...more
On March 31, 2021, the NLRB’s Acting General Counsel Peter Ohr issued a Memorandum entitled “Effectuation of the National Labor Relations Act through Vigorous Enforcement of Mutual Aid or Protection and Inherently Concerted...more
In a report released on March 29, 2021, the Governmental Accountability Office (“GAO”) announced that between fiscal years 2010 and 2019, the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) experienced a 26% decrease in total staff....more
After publishing the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking over a year ago, followed by tens of thousands of public comments and many months of anticipating the final rule, the NLRB announced today that it will publish a Notice of...more
On Monday, the Board voted 3-1 to solicit public briefing on whether it should overrule the Johnnie’s Poultry Co., 146 NLRB 770 (1964) safeguards employees must receive if they are questioned by employers about their own or...more
Recently, adjunct professors at Elon University and Ithaca College won victories before the NLRB and an American Arbitration Association arbitrator, respectively, that further bolster the position that adjunct, or contingent,...more
2/26/2021
/ Adjunct Faculty ,
Bargaining Units ,
Collective Bargaining ,
Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBA) ,
Colleges ,
Educational Institutions ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Professors ,
Unions ,
Universities
From pay equity to an increased minimum wage, pro-worker and pro-union labor policies, and additional anti-discrimination protections, President-elect Biden has touted support for numerous legislative and regulatory proposals...more
1/11/2021
/ ADEA ,
Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Biden Administration ,
But For Causation ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Minimum Wage ,
NLRB ,
Pay Equity Laws ,
Title VII ,
Wage and Hour
On September 15, 2020, the National Labor Relations Board (the “NLRB” or “Board”) Division of Advice (“Advice”), published four Advice Memoranda addressing an array of issues ranging from COVID-19-related unilateral actions...more
9/23/2020
/ Confidentiality Agreements ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Health and Safety ,
Labor Relations ,
Management Rights Clauses ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Separation Agreement ,
Unfair Labor Practices ,
Union Representatives ,
Unions