On September 30, 2024, the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) labor agreement with U.S. East Coast and Gulf Coast port operators ends. With negotiations over the summer unsuccessful, the possibility of a strike...more
On September 6, 2023, New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed legislation prohibiting employers from disciplining employees who choose not to attend captive audience meetings. Enactment of this legislation comes as no surprise,...more
In recent weeks, both the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB” or the “Board”) and U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) have signaled or put into effect several pro-union initiatives. Collectively, these moves will...more
The Multiemployer Pension Plan Amendments Act (MPPAA), the Employee Retirement Income Security Act’s (ERISA) progeny, can create significant unexpected liabilities for companies that have agreed to collective bargaining...more
The Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO Act) (H.R. 842) is a sweeping effort to amend longstanding labor laws to facilitate union and employee organizing efforts. The union-friendly legislation would make the most...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
In brief: A sharp pivot toward employee- and union-friendly executive actions and legislation. Here’s what we mean. Executive Order 13950 - As we’ve reported, President Biden Revokes Executive Order 13950 | Arent Fox,...more
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
The COVID-19 outbreak has rendered many workplaces dormant, but frontline workers in the grocery, delivery, and medical fields are feeling the effects of the massive influx in demand for their services caused by the pandemic....more
If you use union employees in your projects, you may contribute to a multiemployer pension plan—perhaps a few cents or few dollars per hour worked. However, some employers are surprised to learn they could be assessed with...more
In a case of first impression, a divided panel of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB or Board) ruled that the stand-alone misclassification of a worker as an independent contractor instead of an employee does not...more
Sales of small businesses have gone “through the roof,” according to a CBS News report released last summer. In many instances, larger businesses are acquiring smaller businesses because it’s the easiest way to obtain skilled...more
From joint employment concerns to questions about email use and employee handbooks, employers today face a host of modern labor law issues amid a continually changing political and legal landscape. In this Expert Analysis...more
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) moved one step closer to undoing President Obama's permanently enjoined “persuader activity” regulation when, on June 12, the agency issued a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) for reverse...more
Years ago, as a naïve associate at a semi-prestigious law firm, I got the short end of the stick to attend a quarterly Taft-Hartley meeting in Staten Island. If you ever have to drive from Long Island to Staten Island, you...more
Organized labor in the United States has experienced a steady decline in the last several decades, from a peak union membership rate of 35% during the mid-1950s to 10.7% in the year 2016. For the private sector, the decline...more
A stalwart of collective bargaining, the union security clause, is under assault by the “National Right to Work Act” (H.R. 785) that Representatives King (R – Iowa) and Wilson (R – South Carolina) introduced in the House on...more
On June 27, a federal court in Texas enjoined the United States Department of Labor (“DOL”) from implementing its new interpretation of the “Persuader Rule.” In a sweeping 86-page rebuff to the DOL, the court opined that the...more
Last April, the National Labor Relations Board (“Board”) implemented it’s new expedited union representation procedures. On June 10, 2016, in Associated Builders and Contrs. Of Tex v. NLRB, 15-cv-50487 2016 U.S. App. LEXIS...more
Less than a month ago, the West Virginia Legislature overrode the veto of Governor Tomblin to enact the “Workplace Freedom Act” – commonly called the Right-to-Work bill – and eliminated the requirement that state contractors...more
The Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) employer shared responsibility rules provide applicable large employers (i.e., those with 50 or more full-time and full-time equivalent employees on business days during the preceding calendar...more
In This Issue: - As a Retirement Plan Provider, Don't Turn Into A Bureaucracy - An RFP Process should not be a sham. - A Great Idea isn't Everything. - Sometimes, Networking can be bad. - Trust is an important...more
With a bill signed into law last month, Wisconsin became the nation’s 25th “right to work” state. In this context, right-to-work means the right of an employee of a unionized company to retain his job even if he chooses not...more
Wisconsin’s Legislature passed a “right-to-work” (RTW) law on Friday, March 6, 2015, and Wisconsin Governor (and possible presidential candidate) Scott Walker promptly signed the bill into law today. Wisconsin has now become...more
Since the expiration of a labor contract in July 2014, negotiations for a new contract have dragged on between management representatives of the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA)—a multi-employer bargaining association...more