During the last decade, a number of NLRB decisions faulted employers for written policies that were considered to be overbroad in violation of the National Labor Relations Act. These rulings sprang largely from the NLRB’s...more
2/27/2019
/ Appeals ,
Collective Bargaining ,
Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBA) ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employee Handbooks ,
Employee Rights ,
Employment Policies ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Section 7 ,
Union Representatives ,
Unions
The right of employees to band together for purposes of bringing grievances to their employer is at the very core of the National Labor Relations Act, as embodied in Section 7. This right is called protected concerted...more
Last year about this time, the NLRB changed the standard for reviewing handbook rules. The new standard takes into consideration the fact there are many other interests other than the NLRA at play in a workplace, and seems to...more
12/24/2018
/ Data Retention ,
Duty to Preserve ,
Employee Handbooks ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Litigation Hold ,
NLRB ,
Policy Memorandums ,
Protected Concerted Activity ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Section 7 ,
Unions ,
Wage and Hour
As we hurtle toward Labor Day, and the probable onslaught of decisions, and as NLRB Member Pearce’s tenure ends on August 27, the Board has been issuing a steady stream of cases. Many of these appear to be garden variety type...more
8/28/2018
/ Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ,
Coercion ,
Collective Bargaining ,
Constructive Discharge ,
Employee Transfers ,
Hiring & Firing ,
NLRB ,
Performance Reviews ,
Protected Concerted Activity ,
Section 7 ,
Unfair Labor Practices ,
Unions
We have noted many times over the years how the NLRB’s zeal to review employer policies, or more correctly, fragments of employer policies, for lawfulness has led to nettlesome issues that rarely, if ever, involve actual...more
The new NLRB General Counsel Peter Robb has been fast at work. A short two weeks after being sworn in on November 17, 2017, the new General Counsel issued a memorandum making clear his intention to re-examine much of the...more
12/8/2017
/ Collective Bargaining ,
Employee Handbooks ,
Independent Contractors ,
Memorandum of Guidance ,
Misclassification ,
NLRB ,
NLRB General Counsel ,
Purple Communications ,
Rescission ,
Section 7 ,
Unions
It is mid-November, and the Board is at a full complement, and even has a new General Counsel. While we haven’t seen anything significant (or really, anything at all) come out of the newly constituted Board we know the new...more
11/13/2017
/ Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ,
Administrative Remedies ,
Arbitration ,
Charging Party ,
Coercion ,
Collective Bargaining ,
Employee Benefits ,
Grievance Process ,
Lockouts ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Section 7 ,
Settlement Agreements ,
Strike ,
Unions ,
Wage and Hour
The advent of social media resulted in a feverish effort by the NLRB to keep up with new technology. In reality, the legal standard for evaluating whether conduct is protected concerted activity did not change. Rather, all...more
The last few decisions issued by the NLRB have addressed a wide spectrum of rather unique situations. Just in the last several days we saw decisions involving a combative registered nurse and a human resources representative...more
6/3/2017
/ Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ,
Damages ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Misappropriation ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Protected Concerted Activity ,
Public Policy ,
Section 7 ,
Settlement Agreements ,
Trade Secrets ,
Unfair Labor Practices ,
Unions ,
Wrongful Termination
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