Long-Term Remote Work Strategies
Deflating the Union Rat
I-24 – Thankful for Volume 1, 2017, and Relationships
A federal judge in Texas recently cast new doubt on the National Labor Relations Board’s (NLRB) ability to oversee labor disputes, agreeing with SpaceX that the agency’s Board Members and Administrative Law Judges (ALJs) are...more
The Supreme Court issued several momentous decisions last term that will have a lasting impact on employer practices. The Justices continued to shape the workplace law landscape by ruling on an array of issues involving...more
On June 13, 2024, the Supreme Court resolved a long-standing split among circuit courts when it issued a ruling in a high-profile labor dispute between Starbucks and the NLRB. The case originated in Memphis, Tennessee, where,...more
The Supreme Court just sided with Starbucks in a case where the Labor Board tried to force the company to temporarily reinstate workers who were fired for hosting media interviews afterhours in a closed store. Starbucks said...more
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit sent an unfair labor practice case back to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) because the agency failed to consider the contract-based defenses of an employer accused of...more
The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) issued a controversial rule change to its longstanding “joint employer rule” in October of 2023, which dramatically lowered the thresholds by which a company could be deemed jointly...more
As 2024 approaches, employers should be mindful of the following 2023 employment requirements, as well as laws which are effective January 1, 2024....more
In a recent and highly unusual turn of events, the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit (Seventh Circuit) has ordered U.S. Marshals to take corporate officials of Haven Salon + Spa (Haven) into custody for...more
The National Labor Relations Board has returned to the “totality of the circumstances” test for determining when individual employee action constitutes protected concerted activity. Miller Plastic Products, Inc., 372 NLRB No....more
The Supreme Court came down hard on unions last month when it held that a company may bring state law tort claims against a union for property damage caused during a strike. The Court held that the federal law governing labor...more
On June 9, 2023, Illinois Governor J. B. Pritzker signed into law HB 2907 and HB 3396, amending the Illinois Labor Disputes Act (“Act”) to expand protections for striking workers. The new law restricts defensive measures...more
The National Labor Relations Act does not preempt a company’s state tort claims alleging a union’s intentional destruction of company property during a labor dispute, the U.S. Supreme Court has held in an 8-1 decision....more
This article addresses the key legal issues and best practices regarding reserved gate systems, which are also sometimes referred to as dual gate or two-gate systems. Employers implement reserved gate systems when union...more
We frequently confront the issue of whether to institute tort-based suits in state or federal court, on behalf of an employer, seeking to recover damages suffered as a result of picketing, strikes, and other activities by...more
The new year begins with one of the most anticipated labor cases on the high court’s docket in decades. On January 10, 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral argument in Glacier Northwest, Inc. v. International Brotherhood...more
Imagine this: a nurse leaves the operating room during spinal surgery to participate in a union action, the employer terminates the nurse, and the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) holds that the employer violated federal...more
DOL Extends IC Proposal Comment Period. On October 25, 2022, the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) Wage and Hour Division announced an extension of the public comment period for its proposal to amend the independent contractor...more
The U.S. Supreme Court’s upcoming term will include review of whether the National Labor Relations Act (the “Act”) preempts state court lawsuits for property damage caused during strikes, which could have significant...more
I still think an emoji would have helped. A couple of years ago, I posted about a decision from an administrative law judge who found that Ben Domenech, co-founder and Executive Officer of FDRLST Media, LLC, and publisher...more
Walkouts by non-union employees have increased sharply over the past couple of years. “Walkout Wednesdays” have become a favorite organizing strategy for labor unions. Unions, like SEIU, make a significant investment of their...more
The battle over Scabby the Rat took another turn on July 21, 2021, when the National Labor Relations Board issued its anticipated decision and order in International Union of Operating Engineers, Local 150 and Lippert...more
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
The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) ruled 3-1 on July 21, 2021 that labor unions may continue to use large, inflatable balloons–usually in the shape of an ugly rat–to aid in publicity of labor disputes, whether...more
1. On February 4, House and Senate Democrats introduced the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act. The sponsors described the bill as comprehensive labor legislation aimed at bolstering workers’ collective bargaining...more
Who is Scabby? Scabby is an inflatable rat, sometimes installed by unions at protests and on picket lines. Scabby has been around since the late 1980s and is a well-known symbol to passersby of an ongoing labor dispute....more