December saw a flurry of decisions by the NLRB as it briefly held a full complement. The Board currently has only four members and so law-changing decisions are less likely to occur until a new member is confirmed....more
On the eve of Chairman Miscimarra’s departure, the Board has been churning out decision after decision, many of them reversing precedents from the last 8 years.
Today, the NLRB, in Raytheon Network Centric Systems, 365...more
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
Things are moving fast and furiously at the NLRB. Last week we saw the new General Counsel issue a sweeping memo which rescinded many policy guidelines and initiatives of his predecessor and highlighted the Board precedent...more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 end of September in most years sees a spate of new NLRB decisions, sometimes dozens, issued on or about September 30, to coincide with the end of the agency’s fiscal year. Not so this past September 30 because of the...more
10/10/2017
/ Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ,
Adverse Action ,
Coercion ,
Email ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Employment Policies ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Interrogations ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Professional Disciplinary Actions ,
Termination ,
Totality of Circumstances Test ,
Trump Administration ,
Unfair Labor Practices ,
Unions ,
Witness Statements
One of the fundamental pillars of any remedy doled out by the NLRB is the agency’s requirement that the employer (or union) post a “Notice to Employees,” a bright blue poster detailing the misdeeds of the charged party. Such...more
9/12/2017
/ Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ,
Breach of Contract ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Default Judgment ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Labor Law Violations ,
NLRB ,
Notice Requirements ,
Settlement Agreements ,
Unfair Labor Practices ,
Unions
Labor Day is upon us. It is fitting, therefore, to enter the weekend with another case that exemplifies the bizarre world of labor relations. Like the case of the human resource manager who turned on his employer, or the...more
The NLRB suffered a setback this week when its interpretation of Weingarten rights was rebuffed by the D.C. Court of Appeals. This is the same court that recently declared the agency was acting more as an “advocate than...more
8/24/2017
/ Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ,
Collective Bargaining ,
Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBA) ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Hospitals ,
NLRB ,
Nurse Practitioners ,
Peer Review ,
Union Representatives ,
Unions ,
Weingarten Rights
When bargaining over an agreement, it is common to hear union representatives ask “why do we need such elaborate language in an agreement? We are always reasonable.” To which, the company usually responds, “We think you’re...more
We are on the verge of the Board majority changing for the first time in approximately a decade. The President’s two appointees, if confirmed, will bring the Board up to a full five members. After the new members are seated...more
7/27/2017
/ Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Corporate Officers ,
Filing Grievances ,
Grievance Process ,
Long Term Care Facilities ,
NLRB ,
Nurses ,
Solicitation ,
Unfair Labor Practices ,
Union Elections ,
Unions
Labor disputes are passionate affairs. Workplace grievances elicit all sorts of strident behavior. When the dispute involves a group of employees, the effect can become magnified. The exact point at which the stridency of an...more
When an employer and a union sit down to bargain they often agree to ground rules for how negotiations are to be conducted. A common ground rule, for example, is for the parties to agree to address “non-economic” items before...more
A significant change in NLRB precedent during the last few years was the added requirement that an employer bargain over discretionary aspects of discipline in the period between the union acquiring representational rights...more
6/26/2017
/ Back Pay ,
Collective Bargaining ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Discipline ,
Hiring & Firing ,
IRS ,
NLRB ,
Reinstatement ,
Security Guards ,
Unfair Labor Practices ,
Unilateral Modification ,
Unions ,
Wrongful Termination
As we reported last month, the DOL was considering what to do with the enjoined persuader rules, new regulations that would have drastically changed the interpretation of the advice exemption to the LMRDA reporting...more
During the last several years, the NLRB has overturned a great deal of existing precedent. Among other changes, the Board has required bargaining over discipline in newly organized units, found graduate students to be...more
6/8/2017
/ American Baptist ,
Appeals ,
Arbitration ,
Confidential Employer Investigations ,
Confidentiality Agreements ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Internal Investigations ,
NLRB ,
Retaliation ,
Standing ,
Unions ,
Witness Statements ,
Workplace Investigations
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
One of the most interesting things about labor relations is the unusual situations human resources professionals have to deal with on a day to day basis. If you are at a cocktail party with a human resources professional, ask...more
The NLRB recently issued a rare decision completely dismissing all allegations against an employer; rarer still because it was unanimous. In Brooke Glen Behavioral Hospital, 365 NLRB No. 79 (May 15, 2017) the NLRB was...more
5/23/2017
/ Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ,
Collective Bargaining ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Health Care Providers ,
Hiring & Firing ,
NLRB ,
Nurses ,
Protected Activity ,
Protected Concerted Activity ,
Teamsters ,
Unfair Labor Practices ,
Unions
Change is coming. We noted recently that the administration is thinking about changing the newly adopted persuader regulations. We also know that a majority of make-up of the NLRB is likely to shift very soon, and with it...more
Of all the changes to the law the NLRB has made in the last several years, the most significant involve how the agency determines bargaining units. For example, the NLRB’s decision in Specialty Healthcare drastically altered...more
What would the holiday season be without a Christmas gift case? A perennial problem for labor relations personnel is whether the yearly Christmas turkey given to employees is something that an employer must bargain over...more
12/30/2016
/ Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ,
Collective Bargaining ,
Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBA) ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Duty to Bargain ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Holiday Gifts ,
Holidays ,
NLRB ,
NLRB General Counsel ,
Unions
The NLRB is down to three members, the bare minimum required to conduct business, and so cases are being issued somewhat sporadically.
The so-called ambush election rules have received a lot attention over the last few...more
The term “right to work state” is fairly well known. After all, 25 of the United States are “right to work states,” states which have enacted laws prohibiting compulsory unionism as part of a collective bargaining agreement....more