We have seen this movie before. NLRB precedent established by the Board under the prior Administration conflicted sharply with decisions by the D.C. Circuit reviewing the Board. Then the current iteration of the Board...more
6/12/2020
/ Collective Bargaining ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Educational Institutions ,
Faculty ,
First Amendment ,
Jurisdiction ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Pacific Lutheran University ,
Religious Institutions ,
Religious Schools ,
Unions ,
Universities
On June 5, 2020, the NLRB held, in Teamsters Local Union No. 735-S (Bemis Co., Inc.), 369 NLRB No. 97, that union officials’ retaliatory actions against members who participated in an investigation resulting in the discharge...more
6/10/2020
/ Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ,
Bargaining Units ,
Burden-Shifting ,
Bylaws ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Disciplinary Proceedings ,
Employment Litigation ,
Labor Relations ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Protected Activity ,
Section 7 ,
Unions
On Sunday, we reported on an eleventh-hour district court order striking down large portions of the NLRB’s new representation election rules that were set to go into effect on May 31, 2020. The district court order held...more
After an initial COVID-19 related delay, the sweeping new NLRB representation election rules that reversed the Obama-era “quickie” election process were about to go into effect on May 31, 2020. However, an eleventh-hour...more
In December 2019, the NLRB announced its Final Rule governing representation case procedures. The Final Rule applies to petitions filed on or after May 31, 2020. With the effective date fast approaching, NLRB Regions...more
As most of the country’s workforce continues to adjust to the new realities of social distancing, stay-at-home orders, and limited travel, the practice of law and the forums for adjudicating disputes have shifted to video and...more
We have often reported about how an employer’s failure to adequately respond to an information request made by a union can lead to unfair labor practice charges and litigation. Sometimes a union makes an information request...more
As we reported here, on April 1, 2020, the NLRB published its final rule making three amendments to its rules and regulations governing union elections (relating to the Board’s blocking charge policy; timing and notice...more
4/9/2020
/ Collective Bargaining ,
Comment Period ,
Construction Industry ,
Employee Rights ,
Labor Law Violations ,
Labor Regulations ,
Labor Relations ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Proposed Amendments ,
Public Comment ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Union Elections ,
Union Representatives ,
Unions
Although, like everyone else, the personnel at the NLRB have been consumed with the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on daily operations, including the ability of its Regional Offices to function and serve the public, the...more
Mid-sized businesses (defined as 500 to 10,000 employees) impacted by the Coronavirus may be able to obtain relief loans under the COVID-19 stimulus law, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (“CARES Act”),...more
On February 7, 2020 the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) sued the State of Oregon in federal court seeking a declaratory judgement to invalidate a state statute that protects employees who refuse to attend lawful...more
On Thursday, February 6, 2020 the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Protecting the Right to Organize Act, also known as the “PRO Act”. The legislation passed mostly along party lines, would provide sweeping changes to...more
2/10/2020
/ Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBA) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Gig Economy ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Independent Contractors ,
Labor Regulations ,
Labor Relations ,
New Legislation ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Right to Work ,
Section 7 ,
Unfair Labor Practices ,
Unions
Similar to other disagreements between the NLRB and D.C. Circuit, a tension developed during the last several years regarding the appropriate standard to determine whether teachers at religious schools are covered by the NLRA...more
2/3/2020
/ Appeals ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
First Amendment ,
Jurisdiction ,
Lack of Jurisdiction ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Pacific Lutheran University ,
Religious Institutions ,
Religious Schools ,
Teachers ,
Unfair Labor Practices ,
Union Membership ,
Unions
Shamrock Foods Company, 369 N.L.R.B. No. 5 (January 7, 2020) is the latest in the National Labor Relations Board’s series of employer-friendly decisions. In Shamrock Foods, the Board held that an employer did not violate...more
1/13/2020
/ Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ,
Employee Rights ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Hiring & Firing ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Reinstatement ,
Section 7 ,
Settlement Agreements ,
Termination ,
Unfair Labor Practices ,
Unions
In yet another end-of-2019 decision overruling significant NLRA precedent, the Board reverted to the less stringent Spielberg / Olin standard for determining whether to defer to arbitration decisions in the context of Section...more
1/3/2020
/ Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ,
Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Babcock & Wilcox Construction ,
Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBA) ,
Contract Terms ,
Disciplinary Proceedings ,
Employment Contract ,
Filing Grievances ,
Grievance Process ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Labor Law Violations ,
Labor Reform ,
Labor Relations ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Unfair Labor Practices ,
Unions ,
UPS ,
Wrongful Termination
The Board continues churning out precedent-setting decisions as year-end approaches. Two days before the Christmas holiday, in Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., 368 NLRB No. 146 (Dec. 16, 2019), the NLRB applied its new view on handbook...more
Mid-December is always a time where one can expect significant decisions to issue from the NLRB. In recent years, we saw the Board, among other decisions, abandon the much criticized “micro unit” standard and the equally...more
12/17/2019
/ Bethlehem Steel ,
Collective Bargaining ,
Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBA) ,
Contract Negotiations ,
Dues Checkoff ,
Labor Relations ,
Mandatory Arbitration Clauses ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Statutory Requirements ,
Union Dues ,
Union Security Clauses ,
Unions
On October 28, 2019, the Ninth Circuit, following in the footsteps of the D.C. Circuit and the Second Circuit, affirmed an order entered by the NLRB confirming that prohibitions on secondary boycotts under Section...more
10/31/2019
/ Boycotts ,
Employee Rights ,
Employment Policies ,
First Amendment ,
Free Speech ,
Labor Disputes ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Secondary Boycott ,
Strike ,
Unfair Labor Practices ,
Union Representatives ,
Unions
As we near the end of the agency’s fiscal year on September 30, the NLRB is churning out many significant decisions. On September 10, the Board issued a sweeping decision concerning an issue that has divided the NLRB and D.C....more
The NLRB continues to churn out decisions post-Labor Day. On September 4, in a 2-1 decision, (Chairman Ring and Member Kaplan, with Member McFerran dissenting), the NLRB found that E.I. DuPont De Nemours did not violate the...more
The National Labor Relations Board published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (“NPRM”) on Monday, August 12, 2019, proposing three amendments to its current rules and regulations aimed at addressing representation election...more
This summer has been punctuated by walkouts. We have seen walkouts in support of a $15 minimum wage and walkouts to protest the sale of goods to the government. Walking off the job is, of course, a staple of labor action, and...more
7/31/2019
/ Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employee Rights ,
Employment Policies ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Protected Activity ,
Strike ,
Unions ,
Wage and Hour ,
Wal-Mart
On the eve of Independence Day, the NLRB, in a 3-1 decision (Member McFerran dissented), clarified the law concerning withdrawal and enunciated a new framework for determining whether a union has retained majority support at...more
7/8/2019
/ Collective Bargaining ,
Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBA) ,
Contract Terms ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Unfair Labor Practices ,
Union Elections ,
Union Representatives ,
Unions ,
Withdrawal
Continuing its efforts to overturn precedent, the NLRB General Counsel’s Division of Advice has issued a new advice memorandum looking to strike at the most recognizable sign of unionism in urban areas today – – the...more
On February 4, the NLRB granted United Federation of Teachers, Local 2, AFT, AFL-CIO’s (the “Union”) request for review of the Regional Director’s Decision and Direction of Election concerning a decertification petition filed...more