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On March 24, 2016, the U.S. Department of Labor’s (“USDOL”) Office of Labor-Management Standards (“OLMS”) published its highly controversial “persuader” regulation, which requires employers and labor relations consultants, including legal counsel, to publicly disclose relationships that have traditionally been permitted to remain confidential under the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act (“LMRDA”).  Although the new persuader regulations took effect on April 25, 2016, the new rule will not apply to agreements entered into before July 1, 2016.  This presents an invaluable opportunity for employers and their labor consultants to be “grandfathered” out of much of the required reporting under the new regulations.
Continue Reading Legacy and Grandfathered Agreements are Not Subject to Disclosure Requirements Under the Department of Labor’s New “Persuader” Regulations and Interpretation of the “Advice” Exemption

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Labor-Management Standards (“OLMS”) recently issued its long-debated “persuader” regulations which, as of July 1, 2016, will require employers and their labor relations consultants, including legal counsel, to publicly disclose relationships which had long been permitted to remain confidential under the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act (“LMRDA”).
Continue Reading Department of Labor’s Long-Debated “Persuader” Regulations Expand the Scope of the Consulting Relationships that Must be Reported Under the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act

As a reminder that non-union employees are also protected by the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago recently upheld a National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) decision holding that Staffing Network Holdings, LLC (“Staffing Network”) violated the NLRA by twice threatening non-union employees with discharge for engaging in protected, concerted activity, and for actually discharging an employee Griselda Barrera for the same. See Staffing Network Holdings, LLC v. NLRB.
Continue Reading Non-Union Employee’s “Bad Attitude” Protected by the NLRA

In late April, the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB” or the “Board”) General Counsel’s office issued an Advice Memorandum (“Advice Memo”) (No. 177-1650-0100, available here) addressing whether a franchisor (Freshii Development, LLC) was a joint employer with one of its franchisees (Nutritionality, Inc.).  The General Counsel’s office determined that the franchisor was not a joint employer with its franchisee, using both the current Board standard for joint employer analysis and a recently-proposed, even-more-inclusive standard.  This decision has given franchisors hope that the presumption of joint employment between franchisors and franchisees that has been circulating in a number of recent court and Board decisions is finally starting to weaken.  
Continue Reading NLRB Weighs-In on Franchise Joint Employers

In December 2014, the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) announced new rules governing “Representation—Case Procedures.”  The new rules—set to take effect in just under a month, on April 14, 2015—have been commonly referred to as “quickie” or “ambush” election rules, as they will significantly increase the speed at which the union election process moves.  The Republican-led Congress has been working to block the new rules from taking effect, but the expectation is that even if such a bill passes both the House and the Senate, it is likely to be met with a Presidential veto.  Legal challenges to the new rules are also pending in federal courts, including one lawsuit by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and other trade organizations in the U.S. District Court for Washington D.C. (Case No. 1:15-cv-9), and another by a group of trade associations in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas (Case No. 1:15-cv-26).  As of this writing, however, no court has acted to stop or delay implementation of the rules, and although motions for summary judgment are pending in both cases, no hearings have been set and it is not clear when either Court will rule on the respective motions.  At this point, employers should operate under the assumption that the new rules will indeed take effect on April 14, 2015.
Continue Reading NLRB “Quickie Election” Rule Accelerates the Union Organizing Process

Mid-way through 2012, the Hotel Association of New York City and the New York Hotel & Motel Trades Council, AFL-CIO (the “Union”), renewed a seven-year collective bargaining agreement known as the Industry Wide Agreement, or IWA.  While the IWA controls nearly all aspects of the employer-employee relationship for covered hospitality organizations, it does much more and can potentially bind the unsuspecting.  One important part of the agreement which hospitality employers must heed is the “accretion clause,” which has the potential to bind non-signatory parties to the terms of the IWA.  An already powerful document, the renewed IWA increased the reach of the accretion clause to not only signatory corporations and individuals, but also to related companies and entities.  This can complicate an already multi-layered industry whose members often use third-parties to manage or operate their businesses—as well as potentially increase the labor costs exponentially for those businesses.
Continue Reading AFL-CIO’s Industry Wide Agreement May Have Wide Reach in Hospitality Industry

Overturning existing precedent, the NLRB has ruled that certain employees have a right to use employer email systems for protected communications, unless special circumstances exist. This decision potentially has far-reaching implications and all employers who allow employees to access their email systems should promptly review their policies and practices in light of this decision.
Continue Reading Employers Beware! Employees are Permitted to Use Employer’s Email Systems for Non Work Purposes, Including Union Organizing

The rights of employees under Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act have been given quite the digital treatment over the last few years.  In its newest decision issued on December 11, 2014, the National Labor Relations Board ruled that “employee use of email for statutorily protected communications on nonworking time must presumptively be permitted by employers who have chosen to give employees access to their email systems.”  The full decision can be found here.
Continue Reading An In-Depth Analysis of the NLRB’s Decision to Permit Employees to Use Employer Email Systems for Union Organizing and Other Non-Work Purposes

For over two years, the National Labor Relations Board (the “Board”) fought to require employers to post in their workplaces a notice of employee rights under the National Labor Relations Act (“NLRA”).  Those efforts met with stiff opposition from employers, and now appear to have come to an end.
Continue Reading NLRB Abandons Fight Over Mandatory Workplace Poster Rule

Last month, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit raised the stakes on what has become one of the most prominent topics in the labor law community in recent times with its 2-1 decision in National Labor Relations Board v. Enterprise Leasing Co. SE, LLC, 2013 WL 3722388 (4th Cir. July 17, 2013). Taking up a topic recently examined by the Courts of Appeal for the D.C. Circuit and the Third Circuit, the Fourth Circuit held that President Barack Obama’s appointment of three members to the five-person National Labor Relations Board (the “NLRB”) on January 4, 2012 (previously discussed here) was unconstitutional. This means that, according to the Fourth Circuit, the NLRB has been acting without the three-person quorum it is required to have in order to issue valid orders and decisions since January 4, 2012, when the appointment occurred.
Continue Reading Another Circuit Court Finds President’s NLRB Recess Appointments Unconstitutional