1. The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) General Counsel directed NLRB regions to seek preemptive injunctions for alleged unlawful threats during union campaigns. NLRB General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo issued a memorandum...more
Generally, the Federal Arbitration Act (“FAA”) has routinely been enforced by the balance of the nation’s courts over the years, as it codifies accepted deference to parties’ contracts and agreements and has been held to...more
The U.S. House of Representatives on November 19, 2021, passed the Build Back Better Act (H.R. 5376), ambitious climate protection/social spending legislation that now awaits deliberation in the Senate. Tucked inside the...more
Since the Supreme Court’s 2018 decision in Epic Systems v. Lewis, which deemed class action waivers in employment agreements permissible, employers have increasingly relied upon mandatory arbitration provisions to limit...more
Confidential arbitration agreements between employers and their employees are commonplace. Employers favor such agreements for many reasons, including preserving privacy and allowing legitimate claims to be either settled or...more
On Tuesday, March 9, 2021, the House of Representatives passed the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act.1 With the PRO Act, House and Senate Democrats seek to amend the National Labor Relations Act. Here, we outline a...more
On February 4, 2021, the Protecting the Right to Organize Act (the “PRO Act”) was reintroduced by Democrats in the United States House of Representatives. If enacted, the PRO Act would dramatically transform American labor...more
Part one of this two-part series covered changes to U.S. labor law policies that employers can expect to see with the new administration. Part two is a brief summary of the most prevalent issues in current labor law and their...more
In many private arbitration agreements entered into in the non-union context, employers and employees agree that the proceedings shall remain confidential. On June 19, 2020, the Board addressed whether a confidentiality...more
Ogletree Deakins’ Traditional Labor Relations Practice Group is pleased to announce the publication of the winter 2020 issue of the Practical NLRB Advisor. This special double issue offers readers a thorough year in review of...more
On February 6, 2020, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 2474, The Protecting the Right to Organize Act of 2019 (PRO Act). The PRO Act would fundamentally alter federal labor law by dramatically tilting the playing field...more
In its decision last term in Epic Systems Corp. V. Lewis, the U.S. Supreme Court concluded that the National Labor Relations Act does not preclude the use of mandatory arbitration agreements in employment which prevent class...more
On August 14, 2019, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) issued a decision in Cordua Restaurants, Inc., 368 NLRB No. 43, expanding upon the U.S. Supreme Court’s Epic Systems v. Lewis ruling last year regarding collective...more
On August 14, 2019, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) issued a ruling clarifying several mandatory arbitration issues following the 2018 decision by the Supreme Court of the United States in Epic Systems Corp. v....more
In recent years, many private sector employers have adopted mandatory arbitration programs for employment disputes, which their employees are required to sign as a condition of employment. Main objectives of those programs...more
In a significant decision for employers, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) provided new guidance addressing the intersection of arbitration agreements and the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). The NLRB’s recent...more
The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) recently provided guidance in Cordúa Restaurants, Inc., 368 NLRB No. 43, for employers seeking to require employees to sign class action and collective action waivers in arbitration...more
The Supreme Court held last year in Epic Systems v. Lewis that mandatory arbitration agreements requiring employees to arbitrate claims against their employer on an individual—rather than on a class or collective—basis are...more
In its groundbreaking decision in Epic Systems Corp. v. Lewis, 584 US ___, 138 S. Ct. 1612 (2018), the Supreme Court held that the National Labor Relations Act permits employer/employee agreements that contain class- and...more
An employer may lawfully issue to its employees a new or revised mandatory arbitration agreement containing a class- and collective-action waiver specifying that employment disputes are to be resolved by individualized...more
The National Labor Relations Board recently invalidated an arbitration agreement that would require employees to arbitrate all “all claims or controversies” with their employer, holding that such a provision would unlawfully...more
On August 14, 2019, the NLRB issued its first decision addressing employer conduct related to mandatory arbitration agreements and Section 7 activity since the Supreme Court decided Epic Systems Corp v. Lewis, 584 U.S. __,...more
In the first post-Epic Systems decision regarding arbitration agreements, the NLRB has underscored just how pro-arbitration courts and regulators have become. In Cordúa Restaurants, the Board put its stamp of approval on...more
In 20/20 Communications, Inc. v. Crawford, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit recently ruled that the question of whether a dispute can be arbitrated on a class-wide basis is a threshold issue that is...more
May 21, 2019, marks the one-year anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Epic Systems Corp. v. Lewis, which upheld the use of class action waivers in employee arbitration agreements....more