California Governor Newsom just rejected a legislative proposal that would have granted striking employees the ability to receive unemployment insurance (UI) benefits. Recent labor activity and worker strikes — particularly...more
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
After nearly five months of heated negotiations and picketing, the Writers Guild of America (WGA) finally reached tentative consensus with the Hollywood studios on a new, three-year agreement, bringing an end to its strike...more
The NLRB just drastically changed how employers can respond to union recognition demands by creating a new framework that will determine when employers are required to bargain with unions without a representation election....more
This detailed set of Frequently Asked Questions, fully updated for 2023, addresses the workplace-related issues facing employers in the wake of hurricane-related disasters. In addition to legal obligations you need to...more
8/28/2023
/ Business Closures ,
Disaster Aid ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Privacy Rights ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Hurricane Season ,
Labor Relations ,
Layoffs ,
Leave of Absence ,
Natural Disasters ,
Severe Weather ,
Unemployment Benefits ,
Wage and Hour ,
Workers' Compensation Claim ,
Workplace Injury ,
Workplace Safety
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
The issue of artificial intelligence has emerged as a key issue in the strikes being waged by screenwriters and actors against television and movie production companies, being called an “existential threat” to creative...more
Today, over 60 million workers are subject to arbitration — a 55% increase since the early 2000s — yet the arbitration field remains dominated by white men. While workplaces across the country have increased their commitment...more
A highly anticipated decision by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) makes it significantly harder for companies to classify their workers as independent contractors. The Board’s June 13 decision in Atlanta Opera...more
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
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
The year that just wrapped up was one of the most tumultuous in recent memory when it came to strike activity and union organizing – and we’re expecting more of the same in 2023. Indeed, we saw increases in labor actions,...more
It’s never easy to make accurate predictions about what we might expect to see in the workplace in the coming year. After all, at the start of 2020, no one could have predicted COVID-19. None of us had heard the phrase “the...more
1/3/2023
/ Employer Liability Issues ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Form I-9 ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Job Applicants ,
Labor Law Violations ,
Labor Relations ,
OSHA ,
Over-Time ,
Privacy Laws ,
Restrictive Covenants ,
Wage and Hour ,
Workplace Safety
In a recent decision, the National Labor Relations Board gave unions greater access to sales agreements under the employer’s duty to provide relevant information so as to meaningfully engage in effects bargaining. The August...more
It’s never easy to make accurate predictions about what we might expect to see in the workplace in the coming year. After all:
- At the start of 2020, no one could have predicted COVID-19.
- None of us had heard the phrase...more
11/1/2022
/ Affirmative Action ,
Background Checks ,
Blockchain ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Corporate Governance ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Security ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Privacy Rights ,
Employee Retention ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Gig Economy ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Labor Relations ,
Leave of Absence ,
Pay Equity Laws ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Trade Secrets ,
Vaccinations ,
Wage and Hour ,
Workplace Safety
The National Labor Relations Board just ruled that employers must continue to collect union dues even after the collective bargaining agreement has expired, a decision that will require many businesses to alter their labor...more
This detailed set of Frequently Asked Questions, fully updated for 2022, addresses the workplace-related issues facing employers in the wake of hurricane-related disasters. In addition to legal obligations you need to...more
9/9/2022
/ Business Closures ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Disaster Preparedness ,
Employee Assistance Programs ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Privacy Rights ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Foreign Workers ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Hurricane Season ,
Labor Relations ,
Layoffs ,
Leave of Absence ,
Natural Disasters ,
Severe Weather ,
Unemployment Benefits ,
Visas ,
Wage and Hour ,
Workers' Compensation Claim ,
Workplace Hazards ,
Workplace Safety
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
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
Welcome to FP Forecast, a monthly outlook featuring Fisher Phillips thought leaders providing their insights into what employers can expect in 2022 and beyond. By following along each month, you’ll be in the best position to...more
3/16/2022
/ Biometric Information ,
Cyber Threats ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Privacy ,
Data Protection ,
Data Security ,
Employee Monitoring ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Former Employee ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Labor Relations ,
Mental Health ,
Metaverse ,
NLRB ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Personally Identifiable Information ,
Privacy Laws ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Ransomware ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Remote Working ,
Restrictive Covenants ,
State Privacy Laws ,
Trade Secrets ,
Union Organizers ,
Unions ,
Virtual Meetings
We were off by about 10 days. When we published An Employer’s Guide to the Baseball Lockout: Answering Your Questions About the First MLB Work Stoppage in Almost 30 Years way back at the beginning of December, we predicted...more
3/14/2022
/ Arbitration ,
Athletes ,
Baseball ,
Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBA) ,
Lockouts ,
Minimum Salary ,
MLB ,
Sports ,
Uniforms ,
Unions ,
Wage and Hour
In one of its final moves of the year, the National Labor Relations Board announced in late December that will reconsider the current legal standard for determining whether workers are independent contractors or employees....more
It’s been said that from crisis comes opportunity. And given that the COVID-19 pandemic has handed us the greatest collective crisis in our lifetimes, it should stand to reason that we should now be in the perfect position to...more
5/3/2021
/ Business Operations ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Governance ,
Data Security ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Foreign Workers ,
Form I-9 ,
Gig Economy ,
Healthcare Workers ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Hospitality Industry ,
Labor Relations ,
Legal Operations ,
Pay Equity Laws ,
Remote Working ,
Staffing Agencies ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour ,
Workplace Safety
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
2/9/2021
/ Arbitration Agreements ,
Confidential Information ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Independent Contractors ,
Joint Employers ,
Labor Relations ,
Micro-Unions ,
Misclassification ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Posting Requirements ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Protected Concerted Activity ,
Protests ,
Quickie Election Rules ,
Secondary Boycott ,
Union Elections ,
Union Membership ,
Union Organizers ,
Unions
The NLRB’s General Counsel recently released a guidance memorandum advising the Board to apply a stricter standard when evaluating if an employer’s support for union organizing activities violates the National Labor Relations...more