While one of organized labor’s most important legislative priorities, the Protecting the Right to Organize Act (PRO Act), languishes with a seemingly limited chance at becoming law, employers still must brace for substantial...more
1. The Senate confirmed Jennifer Abruzzo to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) General Counsel post and Gwynne Wilcox and David Prouty as NLRB members. Approved on July 21 by a narrow 51-50 vote, with Vice President...more
8/23/2021
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Email Policies ,
First Amendment ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
NLRB General Counsel ,
Union Organizers ,
Unions ,
USPS ,
Vaccinations ,
Virus Testing
The Senate confirmed two union lawyers – David Prouty and Gwynne Wilcox – to seats on the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) on July 28, 2021, ensuring a Democratic majority for the first time in almost four years...more
A union’s use of Scabby the Rat (an inflatable rat “approximately 12 feet in height with red eyes, fangs, and claws”) and inflammatory banners targeting a neutral employer, without more, does not violate the National Labor...more
1. The U.S. Supreme Court held California’s union access regulation constitutes an unconstitutional taking of an employer’s property. Cedar Point Nursery v. Hassid, 141 S.Ct. 891 (June 23, 2021). The California Agricultural...more
7/19/2021
/ Agricultural Workers ,
Cedar Point Nursery v Hassid ,
Corporate Counsel ,
GAO ,
Joe Biden ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
NLRB General Counsel ,
SCOTUS ,
Unfair Labor Practices ,
Unions
The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) dismissed a union’s push to organize a micro unit of 87 employees at a Nissan assembly plant in Tennessee based on the traditional community-of-interest standards for determining...more
President Joe Biden has nominated union-side attorney Gwynne Wilcox to fill a vacant seat on the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). Wilcox is a partner at the union-side labor and employment firm Levy Ratner P.C. Among...more
6/16/2021
/ Arbitration ,
Boeing ,
Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBA) ,
Credit Unions ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Rights ,
Joe Biden ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Nominations ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Unions ,
Wage and Hour
“Absent threats or promises, § 8(c) [of the National Labor Relations Act] unambiguously protects ‘any views, argument tor opinion’ – even those that the agency finds misguided, flimsy, or daft,” the D.C. Circuit has held....more
Complying with statutory workplace requirements does not necessarily excuse an employer from its bargaining obligations. A panel of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) upheld an Administrative Law Judge’s (ALJ) finding...more
The NLRB has the authority to order an employer to reopen a business it finds was closed for discriminatorily anti-union reasons. In RAV Truck & Trailer Repairs, Inc., 369 NLRB No. 36 (Mar. 3, 2020), the NLRB did just that....more
An Administrative Law Judge’s (ALJ) findings that an employer engaged in bad faith bargaining and unlawfully withdrew recognition from the union has been overruled 2-1 by a panel of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB)....more
The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) declined to modify its “contract bar” rule. Under NLRB procedure, once a collective bargaining agreement (CBA) is executed, the Board will not process a request for a representation...more
1. On March 31, 2021, National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) Acting General Counsel Peter Sung Ohr issued a memorandum stating his office will return to “vigorous enforcement” of employee rights under Section 7 rights of the...more
The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) Acting General Counsel Peter Sung Ohr (AGC) has announced in a memorandum that his office will return to “vigorous enforcement” of employee rights under Section 7 rights of the...more
4/7/2021
/ Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Minimum Wage ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
NLRB General Counsel ,
Protected Concerted Activity ,
Unions ,
Wage and Hour
In an interesting turn foreshadowing a coming change in its leadership, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has withdrawn the rule it proposed in September 2019 to exclude student workers at private colleges and...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
3/11/2021
/ Appellate Courts ,
Biden Administration ,
Collective Bargaining ,
Employee Rights ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Labor Disputes ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
NLRB General Counsel ,
Right to Strike ,
State Labor Laws ,
Unions ,
Wage and Hour
National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) Acting General Counsel Peter Ohr has filed a motion with the board to stop processing a case on whether to change NLRB standard for determining the lawfulness of union displays of...more
New National Labor Relations Board (NLRB or Board) Acting General Counsel Peter Sung Ohr has wasted no time. In a February 1, 2021, Memorandum, Ohr announced rescission of 10 individual policy directives issued by Peter Robb....more
On January 20th, 2021, President Joe Biden summarily removed National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) General Counsel Peter Robb from office. Biden removed Robb’s deputy Alice Stock the following day. As noted, these...more
1. Directing a union election among dockworkers and clerks at a California distribution center, a National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) official rejected the employer’s argument that an appropriate unit must also include...more
1. The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) provided guidance on the propriety of mail or manual ballot elections. Aspirus Keweenaw, 370 NLRB No. 45 (Nov. 9, 2020). In this case, the NLRB set forth the considerations...more
1. Thus far in 2020, unions prevailed in mail ballot elections at the same rate as in-person elections. According to an October 16 Bloomberg report, although voter participation was low, unions won seven out of 10 National...more
11/18/2020
/ 401k ,
Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBA) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Mail-In Ballots ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Office of Administrative Law Judges (OALJ) ,
State Labor Laws ,
Unions ,
Wage and Hour
The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has established standards for its regional directors to weigh in on whether a representation election in which COVID-19 is a concern should be conducted by mail ballot or in-person...more
The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has asked for the parties and amici to submit briefs answering four questions in a case involving a union’s display of a large inflatable rat, commonly called “Scabby the Rat,” and...more
1.National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) General Counsel Peter Robb has issued guidance addressing employer assistance in union organizing and decertification elections. In Memorandum GC 20-13 (Sept. 4, 2020), “Guidance...more
10/19/2020
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
Furloughs ,
Hazard Pay ,
Interpreters ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Personal Protective Equipment ,
Protests ,
Unions ,
Unpaid Leave ,
Wage and Hour