News & Analysis as of September 22, 2024

The National Labor Relations Act

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The National Labor Relations Board is an independent agency of the United States federal government created in 1935 as part of the National Labor Relations Act. The Board consists of five presidentially-appointed members, who are charged with overseeing union elections and hearing complaints of unfair labor practices under the NLRA. less -

Wigging Out: The NLRB Overturns Another Trump-Era Test and Returns to a Stricter Independent Contractor Standard

Venable LLP on 6/19/2023

On Tuesday, June 13, 2023, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB or the “Board”) issued a decision that effectively increases the number of workers who are considered employees rather than independent contractors under the...more

Atlanta Opera: The NLRB Faces the Independent Contractor Music Once More

Butler Snow LLP on 6/19/2023

On June 13, 2023, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) released a decision, referred to as Atlanta Opera Inc. (372 NLRB No. 95), that marks a shift in the applicable test for whether a worker qualifies as an independent...more

How the Law Is Grappling With Free Expression, COVID-19, Diversity, and More

Ward and Smith, P.A. on 8/11/2021

Between COVID-19, last year’s demonstrations for racial justice, and a new president, there are many legal issues employers may need to consider — or reconsider. A quartet of Ward and Smith attorneys highlighted some...more

PRO Act: Congress Considers Fundamental Changes To Federal Labor Law

Fox Rothschild LLP on 4/21/2021

Congress may be on the cusp of passing legislation that would transform labor law in dramatic ways. This proposed law has potentially dire consequences for private-sector employers nationwide. The Protecting the Right to...more

The Cons Of The PRO Act

Constangy, Brooks, Smith & Prophete, LLP on 3/16/2021

The Protecting the Right to Organize Act of 2021 (also known as the “PRO Act”) is back with its laundry list of organized labor’s most-wanted government handouts. After decades of declining membership, unions see the PRO Act...more

AB 5 Contractor-Classification Battles Set to Heat Up in 2021

McDermott Will & Emery on 3/4/2021

Employers grappling with independent-contractor classification had a busy 2020—and should expect a flurry of additional activity this year. Few areas in employment law are changing as rapidly. Last year, many concerned about...more

NLRB General Counsel Says “Rat’s It”: Scabby the Rat Here to Stay

Verrill on 2/26/2021

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

Back From The Dead – Protecting The Right To Organize Act Reintroduced In The House

Vinson & Elkins LLP on 2/19/2021

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

Congressional Democrats Advance Pro-Labor Initiatives With Reintroduction Of The PRO Act

Jackson Lewis P.C. on 2/12/2021

With President Biden charting a fundamentally different course in labor relations, employers should monitor developments taking place. In less than three weeks, Washington saw President Biden’s firing of National Labor...more

PRO Act Would Upend U.S. Labor Laws for Non-Union and Unionized Employers Alike

Littler on 2/10/2021

On February 4, 2021, House and Senate Democrats introduced the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act. Introduction was expected, as President Biden pledged to be “the strongest labor president you have ever had” during...more

The Biden Era Of Labor Law Change – The Shift To Organized Labor

Constangy, Brooks, Smith & Prophete, LLP on 1/21/2021

Labor law, along with other employment-related policy matters, is at the forefront of the political, economic, and oftentimes cultural divide in the nation. With the change in Presidential administrations, some knowledgeable...more

Another Shift on Joint Employment and Independent Contractors

Holland & Knight LLP on 1/12/2021

Four years ago, the question was raised of whether the then-incoming Trump Administration would reverse course on Obama Administration positions assailing the independent contractor model. Shortly thereafter, the U.S....more

Potential Changes to Labor Policy Under a Biden Administration

Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP on 11/11/2020

Employers should anticipate major changes to national labor policy when President-elect Joe Biden assumes the Oval Office. Changes will likely seek to increase union membership by facilitating organizing, shortening election...more

The Protecting the Right to Organize PRO Act of 2019: An Outline of its Proposed Labor Reforms

Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart,... on 2/10/2020

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

NJ DOL Bills Uber $650M for Misclassified Drivers

Ballard Spahr LLP on 11/20/2019

The New Jersey Department of Labor (NJ DOL) billed Uber Technologies, Inc. and a subsidiary $650 million for past-due taxes, interest, and penalties due to an alleged misclassification of its drivers as independent...more

Three Big Moves From the NLRB

Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP on 9/27/2019

The top three stories in National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) news in recent weeks include (1) a decision holding that the misclassification of workers does not constitute an independent violation of the National Labor...more

Texas Rule on “Gig Workers” Takes Effect

Epstein Becker & Green on 7/22/2019

The Texas Workforce Commission (“TWC”), the agency responsible for administering unemployment benefits and assessing unemployment taxes, recently adopted a rule (“Rule”) pursuant to which certain workers who provide services...more

Web Exclusive: May 2019: The Top 17 Labor And Employment Law Stories

Fisher Phillips on 6/19/2019

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

Recent Developments in the Battle of Independent Contractors vs. Employees

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP on 6/19/2019

We’ve posted on this topic several times before but the battle between independent contractors and employees continues. Here’s a brief refresher on the basics of why proper classification of employees as independent...more

Entrepreneurial Opportunity and Control - Two Sides of the Same Coin?

Foley & Lardner LLP on 6/11/2019

The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has once again weighed in on the proverbial employee-independent contractor issue, this time by way of its General Counsel. On April 16, 2019, the General Counsel’s office issued an...more

Employment Flash - May 2019

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP on 5/29/2019

This edition of Employment Flash looks at developments in labor and employment law, including regarding a DOJ appeal of the EEOC's heightened pay reporting requirements, the NLRB's decision narrowing the circumstances under...more

Companies using independent contractors score big following NLRB ruling

Bricker Graydon LLP on 2/14/2019

In a ruling with significance for companies using independent contractors, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) returned to its long-standing traditional common law test (see SuperShuttle DFW, Inc.)....more

Another Reset Of NLRB’s Independent Contractor Test

Troutman Pepper on 2/14/2019

On Jan. 25, 2019, the Republican-led National Labor Relations Board affirmed the acting regional director’s decision that drivers of a shared airport ride service were independent contractors, not employees, and therefore not...more

Back to the Future (Again): NLRB Returns to Traditional Independent Contractor Test

Polsinelli on 1/31/2019

On January 25, 2019, the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB” or “Board”) in SuperShuttle DFW, Inc. (367 NLRB No. 75), overruled the Obama-era 2014 FedEx Home Delivery (361 NLRB 610) decision and returned to its traditional...more

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