In Pacific Lutheran University, 361 NLRB No. 157, a case that had been watched closely by the higher education community, the National Labor Relations Board issued a 3-2 decision the week before Christmas announcing new...more
On December 12, 2014, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB or the Board) issued its long-promised revision to its representation-case procedures. In its 733-page final rule, the Board outlined various changes that will...more
The NLRB has been active but quiet during the last few months as the agency quietly reaffirms decisions nullified by the Supreme Court. By all accounts, however, and as history has proved, the NLRB is getting ready to issue...more
The last few months have seen very little in the way of NLRB decisions. The recent Supreme Court decision where the recess appointments to the NLRB were invalidated, likely will further slow down the process of issuing...more
In a rare 9-0 decision issued today, the United States Supreme Court invalidated the recess appointments President Obama made to the NLRB on January 4, 2012, while the Senate was in a three day recess. The decision in...more
The shutdown of the federal government has reached many facets of society, including the NLRB. The agency for all intents and purposes closed within a day of the lapse in funding, with Board agents throughout the country...more
As of July 31, the NLRB has a full complement of Board Members, for the first time in about ten years. The fact the deal on appointments has been progressing for a few weeks did not prohibit the three member Board of...more
A theme we have followed here with interest is protected concerted activity, and what kinds of conduct might render otherwise protected activity “unprotected.”...more
Of the many actions by the NLRB during the last few years, one of the most contentious has been its attempt to require all private employers falling under its jurisdiction to post a notice informing employees of their rights...more
The very real questions about the NLRB’s decision-making authority may have finally slowed the agency down. We have come to expect over the last few years, a relentless expansion of NLRB authority and reach, especially given...more
Social media permeates society. It was inevitable that the increased use of smart phones and various communications platforms such as Facebook and Twitter would clash with the workplace. We have noted several instances where...more
A federal appeals court has rebuffed the NLRB's attempt to require employers to post in a "conspicuous" place in a workplace a poster that informs employees of their rights under the National Labor Relations Act. The NLRB's...more
A federal appeals court today rebuffed the NLRB’s attempt to require all employers under its jurisdiction to post in a “conspicuous” place in the workplace a poster that informs employees of their rights under the National...more
As noted here earlier, the government announced its intention to seek Supreme Court review of the DC Circuit decision which held that the President’s recess appointments to the NLRB were unconstitutional. The 138 page...more
The NLRB has ruled that an employer is liable to lost wages for a union representative who allegedly suffered injuries "after being pushed down a flight of stairs at a work site. The case is Norquay Construction, Inc., 359...more
As we have seen repeatedly in the last year, the NLRB has taken it upon itself to police employer policies often finding a phrase or two to be a violation of the Act. In recent months we have seen the NLRB seemingly pullback...more
The NLRB announced today that the agency would seek U.S. Supreme Court review of the D.C. Circuit decision in Noel Canning, which ruled that the President’s recess appointments made last year (and perhaps in the years prior)...more
The fallout from Noel Canning has been felt far and wide. The DC Circuit Court’s January 25, 2013 decision certainly put all NLRB decisions made since January 4, 2012 (the date Members Block and Griffin received their recess...more
The United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit has issued a decision invalidating the President's January 4, 2012 recess appointments to the National Labor Relations Board ("NLRB" or "Board")....more
As we noted last month, the federal court of appeals in DC heard the first case on the constitutionality of the recess appointments to the NLRB. Today, a three judge panel ruled unanimously that the appointments of Members...more
The National Labor Relations Board continued its attack on long established internal investigation best practices with its recent ruling in American Baptist Homes of the West, 359 NLRB No. 46 (December 15, 2012) in which it...more
The precedents are falling fast. Last week the NLRB overruled the five decade old Bethlehem Steel decision, and now another longstanding precedent has fallen....more
Last week the NLRB issued several significant decisions. In the press release announcing the decisions, the agency noted that most were actually issued “the week of December 10, but were issued this week following editing and...more
Claiming that the Board “has never provided a coherent explanation” for the 50 year old rule that the obligation to continue deducting dues pursuant to a dues checkoff provision ceases upon expiration of the collective...more
An issue we have discussed previously is whether all employee action that is “concerted” is also protected by the NLRA. We have seen that maliciously false statements made to third parties are unprotected. But what about when...more