A video game developer needs to hope that the Force is with it as it squares off with a union over the use of artificial intelligence in the workplace. SAG-AFTRA just filed an unfair labor practice (ULP) charge against Epic...more
5/27/2025
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Bargaining Units ,
Collective Bargaining ,
Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBA) ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Terms ,
NLRA ,
Popular ,
Unfair Labor Practices ,
Unions
A series of game-changing moves from the White House have left employers struggling to understand the lay of the land when it comes to the nation’s labor law. Even though it might feel like we’re entering unchartered...more
2/5/2025
/ Best Practices ,
Collective Bargaining ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employee Rights ,
Employment Policies ,
Labor Relations ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
NLRB General Counsel ,
Protected Concerted Activity ,
Trump Administration ,
Unfair Labor Practices ,
Unions
In a significant move, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) just overruled a Trump-era ruling and made it more challenging for unionized employers to make workplace changes without bargaining over the change with the...more
President-elect Trump surprised the business community on Friday night when he announced Lori Chavez-DeRemer as his nominee to lead the U.S. Department of Labor. Her selection was met by skepticism by some in the employer...more
11/25/2024
/ Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Foreign Workers ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Independent Contractors ,
Joint Employers ,
Minimum Wage ,
Over-Time ,
Presidential Appointments ,
Secretary of Labor ,
Small Business ,
Trump Administration ,
Unions ,
Wage and Hour ,
Workplace Safety
Now that we know Donald Trump will return to the White House as President, it’s time for employers to take a look at what they might expect during his second term in office. We have gathered insights from some of our firm’s...more
11/7/2024
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Data Collection ,
EEO-1 ,
Election Results ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
Federal Taxes ,
Foreign Workers ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Hospitality Industry ,
Immigration Reform ,
Income Taxes ,
Independent Contractors ,
Labor Reform ,
Labor Relations ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Minimum Wage ,
Misclassification ,
Over-Time ,
Paid Leave ,
Pay Data ,
Popular ,
Tipped Employees ,
Tips ,
Trump Administration ,
Wage and Hour ,
Workplace Safety
The election season promises to be turbulent, and your workplace will not be immune from the challenges that are sure to face us. What do you need to know about your rights and responsibilities as an employer now that the...more
9/12/2024
/ Appearance Policy ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Dress Codes ,
Employee Rights ,
Employment Policies ,
First Amendment ,
Free Speech ,
Human Resources Professionals ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Political Campaigns ,
Political Expression ,
Political Speech ,
Presidential Elections ,
Social Media Policy
Voters will be deciding more than just who will capture the White House and Congress this Election Day – they’ll also be voting on a slew of state ballot measures that could change your workplace. How can you prepare? Read...more
The National Labor Relations Board just ditched three Trump-era rules that had made it easier for workers to undo union representation. In a long-anticipated move, the NLRB issued a new regulation Friday scrapping agency...more
The Supreme Court’s recent landmark ruling that gives employers a powerful tool to fight back against regulatory overreach will have a broad impact on just about every area of workplace law. We’re looking at the specific...more
Uber and Lyft just reached a $175 million settlement with Massachusetts state prosecutors that permits their drivers to stay classified as independent contractors – not employees – but entitles the drivers to significant...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
6/14/2024
/ Corporate Counsel ,
Employment Litigation ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Injunctive Relief ,
Labor Disputes ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Reinstatement ,
SCOTUS ,
Starbucks ,
Starbucks Corp. v McKinney ,
Statutory Interpretation ,
Unfair Labor Practices ,
Union Organizers ,
Unions
In a case before the Supreme Court, Starbucks says it fired several employees for violating valid company policies — but the National Labor Relations Board convinced a lower court to reinstate the employees while a legal...more
4/18/2024
/ Corporate Counsel ,
Employment Litigation ,
Hiring & Firing ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Oral Argument ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Starbucks ,
Unfair Labor Practices ,
Union Organizers ,
Unions
While you may think labor unions only impact large corporations or specific industries, FP’s new Union Organizing Activity Map actually shows that smaller businesses are more likely to confront an organizing drive. The map...more
The National Labor Relations Board just ruled that a national retailer must allow customer-facing employees who want to write “Black Lives Matter” on their uniforms to do so – and may have opened Pandora ’s Box when it comes...more
2/23/2024
/ Corporate Counsel ,
Dress Codes ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Policies ,
NLRB ,
Political Expression ,
Political Speech ,
Protected Concerted Activity ,
Unfair Labor Practices ,
Uniforms
When I reflect on the relationship that our firm has with our clients, I’m most proud of the fact that you can always count on us. That often means defending complex litigation, steering you through regulatory threats,...more
12/4/2023
/ 401k ,
Acquisitions ,
Affirmative Action ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Automotive Industry ,
Bias ,
California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) ,
Car Dealerships ,
Chevron Deference ,
Child Labor ,
College Admissions ,
Colleges ,
Construction Industry ,
Consumer Privacy Rights ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Deletion ,
Data Privacy ,
Data Security ,
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Diversity ,
E-Verify ,
Educational Institutions ,
EEO-1 ,
Electronic Records ,
Employee Handbooks ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Eligibility Verification ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Policies ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
EU ,
Exempt-Employees ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Foreign Nationals ,
Foreign Workers ,
Form I-9 ,
H-1B ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare Facilities ,
Healthcare Workers ,
Highly Compensated Employees ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Hospitality Industry ,
Hotels ,
Human Resources Professionals ,
International Labor Laws ,
Joint Employers ,
Jury Verdicts ,
L-1 Visas ,
Labor Reform ,
Labor Relations ,
Labor Shortage ,
Manufacturing Employers ,
Mergers ,
Mexico ,
Name and Likeness ,
New Legislation ,
New Rules ,
NLRB ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
OFCCP ,
OSHA ,
Over-Time ,
Pay Data ,
Pay Equity Laws ,
Pay Transparency ,
Payroll Taxes ,
Privacy Laws ,
Professional Employer Organization ,
Proposed Rules ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
Recruitment Policies ,
Remote Working ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Restaurant Industry ,
Restrictive Covenants ,
Retirement Plan ,
Salaried Employees ,
Scheduling Letters ,
School Districts ,
School Policies ,
SCOTUS ,
SECURE Act ,
Severance Agreements ,
Sports ,
Staffing Agencies ,
State Labor Laws ,
State of Emergency ,
Student Athletes ,
Student Loans ,
Students ,
Tip Credit ,
Title IX ,
Trade Secrets ,
Transgender ,
Union Organizers ,
Unions ,
Universities ,
USCIS ,
Wage and Hour ,
Workplace Safety ,
Workplace Violence
Many employers had trouble keeping up with the dizzying pace of new directives from the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) in 2023. And these changes may have prompted you to review and update your employee relations...more
11/27/2023
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employee Handbooks ,
Employment Policies ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Information Sharing ,
Labor Relations ,
NLRB ,
NLRB General Counsel ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Unions
In the aftermath of a game-changing NLRB decision that drastically changed how employers can respond to union recognition demands, the Board’s General Counsel recently issued a guidance memorandum offering important insight...more
Employers operating in certain states should note that the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals just provided some clarity on the Fair Labor Standards Act’s (FLSA’s) administrative exemption. A federal appeals court held that...more
It’s never easy to make accurate predictions about what we might expect to see in the workplace in the coming year. After all:
- At the start of 2020, no one could have predicted COVID-19.
- None of us had heard the phrase...more
11/1/2022
/ Affirmative Action ,
Background Checks ,
Blockchain ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Corporate Governance ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Security ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Privacy Rights ,
Employee Retention ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Gig Economy ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Labor Relations ,
Leave of Absence ,
Pay Equity Laws ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Trade Secrets ,
Vaccinations ,
Wage and Hour ,
Workplace Safety
A terminated Kroger Co. distribution center worker has just sued the grocery store giant over its handling of absences for what she alleges were COVID-19 symptoms. The most interesting aspect of this claim is that the...more
The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) announced today its intent to publish a proposed “Election Protection Rule” that would amend regulations governing the filing and processing of petitions for secret ballot union...more
8/12/2019
/ Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBA) ,
Construction Industry ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Proposed Amendments ,
Proposed Rules ,
Public Comment ,
Trump Administration ,
Unfair Labor Practices ,
Union Elections ,
Unions
In a unanimous opinion issued yesterday, the United States Supreme Court continued its expansive reading of the Federal Arbitration Act and arbitration provisions, rebuffing an effort by some to erect an additional hurdle...more
1/9/2019
/ Appeals ,
Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Arbitrators ,
Contract Terms ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Exceptions ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Henry Schein Inc v Archer and White Sales Inc ,
Judicial Review ,
Motion to Compel ,
Question of Arbitrability ,
Remand ,
SCOTUS ,
Vacated ,
Wholly Groundless Doctrine