Tag Archives: National Labor Relations Act

Labor Issues Concerning COVID-19 and Government “Stay at Home” Orders

Keahn MorrisBy Keahn Morris on Posted in Coronavirus, Employee Benefits, Leaves of Absence, National Labor Relations Act, National Labor Relations Board
The National Labor Relations Act (“NLRA”) is a federal law that applies to nearly all employers in the United States.  In the wake of COVID-19, there are numerous issues implicating the NLRA, including but not limited to employees engaging in protected concerted activities including work stoppages, the potential duty to bargain with unions concerning COVID-19 … Continue Reading

Employers May Now Forbid Employees Using Co. Email for Protected Concerted Activities, Forbid Employees from Discussing On-Going Workplace Investigations, and Cease Checking Off Union Dues

Keahn MorrisJohn BolestaJames HaysBy Keahn Morris, John Bolesta and James Hays on Posted in NLRB
The Trump National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) continues to reshape the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA or Act) with new decisions that reverse precedents and undo legal restrictions placed on employers during the Obama administration. Over the past week alone and coming on the heels of the current Board’s issuance of new more employer friendly … Continue Reading

Christmas Comes Early for Employers at the NLRB — New Election Procedures That Give Employers a Greater Opportunity to Mount Legal Challenges to Election Petitions and to Effectively Campaign Against Unionization

Keahn MorrisMark RossJohn BolestaBy Keahn Morris, Mark Ross and John Bolesta on Posted in NLRB
On the eve of the holidays, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) delivered an early Christmas present to employers with its issuance of new regulations governing the NLRB election process.  While not scraping the Obama Board’s controversial 2014 election regulations wholesale, the current Board’s new rules moderate the election processing time frames considerably, allow employers … Continue Reading

The NLRB Rules That Employers May Bar Union Representatives From Their Property Even Though They Have Allowed Other Third Parties To Engage In Civic, Charitable Or Commercial Solicitations There

Keahn MorrisJohn BolestaJames HaysBy Keahn Morris, John Bolesta and James Hays on Posted in National Labor Relations Act, National Labor Relations Board
Setting clear and reasonable standards for taking access to an employer’s private property is high on the National Labor Relations Board’s agenda. Not only is the Board talking about issuing formal rules in this area, but the Agency is cranking out new access decisions left and right, the most recent being its recent decision in … Continue Reading

The NLRB Confirms that Intermittent Strikes in Furtherance of the Same Goal are Unprotected

Keahn MorrisJohn BolestaBy Keahn Morris and John Bolesta on Posted in National Labor Relations Act, National Labor Relations Board
The National Labor Relations Act’s (NLRA or Act) Section 7 grants to all employees — regardless of whether they are unionized or not — the right to engage in protected concerted activity (PCA).  Accordingly, an employer may not punish or take any adverse action against a worker because they engage in PCA. Such adverse action … Continue Reading

The NLRB Just Made It A Little Easier For Employees To Get Rid Of Their Union

Keahn MorrisJohn BolestaBy Keahn Morris and John Bolesta on Posted in National Labor Relations Act, National Labor Relations Board
Unionized workers wishing to rid themselves of continued union representation (and their employers) just got some very good news from the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB or Board) with the issuance of Johnson Controls, Inc., 368 NLRB No. 20 (July 3, 2019).  The issue addressed there was how the NLRB will determine the wishes of … Continue Reading

NLRB Limits Duty to Bargain Over Disciplinary Actions

Keahn MorrisJohn BolestaBy Keahn Morris and John Bolesta on Posted in National Labor Relations Act, National Labor Relations Board
A unionized employer must bargain with its employees’ union before making any unilateral changes in employees’ wages, hours, working conditions or other terms and conditions of employment.  Such changes are commonly referred to as mandatory bargaining subjects.  In Alan Ritchey, 359 NLRB 396 (2012) and later in Total Security Management, 364 NLRB No. 106 (2016), … Continue Reading

NLRB Limits Union Access Rights to “Public Spaces” of Employers

Keahn MorrisJohn BolestaBy Keahn Morris and John Bolesta on Posted in National Labor Relations Act, National Labor Relations Board
On June 14, 2019, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB or Board) issued an important decision clarifying whether and when an employer may lawfully exclude union organizers from its privately owned public spaces. Under then extant Board caselaw, where an employer had invited the public to enter or use space on its private property, the employer … Continue Reading

It’s OK to Be Different- NLRB Rules That Union Represented Employees Are Not Entitled to Midterm Bargaining Over Same Paid Holiday Granted to Non-Represented Employees

John BolestaKeahn MorrisBy John Bolesta and Keahn Morris on Posted in Collective Bargaining, National Labor Relations Act, National Labor Relations Board
Does an employer automatically engage in unlawful discrimination when it grants an improved benefit to its non-union employees but withholds the improvement from its union employees who are covered by a collective bargaining agreement? In a recent decision, Merck, Sharp & Dohme Corp, 367 NLRB No. 122, issued on May 7, 2019, the National Labor … Continue Reading

NLRB’s Division of Advice Gives “Advice” As to the Application of Boeing — When a Work Rule/Employment Agreement is Facially Valid Under the NLRA in Union and Union Free Workplaces

Keahn MorrisJohn BolestaBy Keahn Morris and John Bolesta on Posted in NLRB
In The Boeing Company, 365 NLRB No. 154 (2017), the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) reassessed the standard it would apply when determining the facial validity of otherwise neutral work rules based upon a balancing between a given rule’s negative impact on employee’s ability to exercise their statutory rights and the rule’s connection to an … Continue Reading

NLRB Issues Proposed Rulemaking on the Joint Employer Standard

John BolestaBy John Bolesta on Posted in National Labor Relations Act, National Labor Relations Board
The National Labor Relations Board has made good on its recent promise to move forward with rulemaking to re-establish the decades-old joint employer standard in place prior to the Board’s 2015 decision in Browning-Ferris Industries of California, Inc., d/b/a BFI Newby Island Recyclery, 362 NLRB No. 186 (2015) (Browning-Ferris or BFI), petition for review docketed … Continue Reading

National Labor Relations Board’s General Counsel Releases Memorandum Providing Guidance On Handbook Rules After Its December 2017 Boeing Decision

John BolestaJenna MennonaRyan MunitzBy John Bolesta, Jenna Mennona and Ryan Munitz on Posted in National Labor Relations Act, National Labor Relations Board, Union Issues
On June 6, 2018, the National Labor Relations Board’s (“NLRB” or “Board”) General Counsel issued Memorandum GC 18-04 (“GC 18-04”), which provides guidance to employers on the legality of certain handbook rules following the Board’s decision in The Boeing Company, 365 NLRB No. 154 (Dec. 14, 2017).  By way of background, in 2004, the Board … Continue Reading

NLRB Confirms That It Intends To Proceed With Rulemaking On Joint Employer Standard

John BolestaRyan MunitzBy John Bolesta and Ryan Munitz on Posted in National Labor Relations Act, National Labor Relations Board
On June 5, 2018, in response to a May 29, 2018 letter from Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Sen. Bernard Sanders (I-VT), and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB” or “Board”) Chairman John Ring confirmed that the NLRB intends to move forward with rulemaking on the joint employer standard and that a Notice … Continue Reading

National Labor Relations Board Deviates from Typical Practice and Announces that It is Considering Rulemaking to Address Joint Employer Standard

John BolestaBryanne LewisRyan MunitzBy John Bolesta, Bryanne Lewis and Ryan Munitz on Posted in National Labor Relations Act, National Labor Relations Board
On May 9, 2018, the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) announced it is considering rulemaking to address the standard for determining joint-employer status under the National Labor Relations Act (“NLRA”). As Chairman of the NLRB John Ring explained in the NLRB’s press release: “The current uncertainty over the standard to be applied in determining joint-employer … Continue Reading

U.S. Supreme Court Upholds Enforceability of Mandatory Employment Class Action Waivers

Thomas KaufmanJoni L. NoggleBy Thomas Kaufman and Joni L. Noggle on Posted in Arbitration Agreements, Class Actions, National Labor Relations Act, National Labor Relations Board, SCOTUS, Wage and Hour
On May 21, 2018, the United States Supreme Court upheld the legality of arbitration agreements containing class action waivers. In a 5-4 decision written by Justice Gorsuch, the Court held that arbitration agreements providing for individualized proceedings were valid, and neither the Federal Arbitration Act’s (“FAA”) savings clause, nor the National Labor Relations Act (“NLRA”) suggest otherwise.… Continue Reading

Labor Board Back to Five Member Composition – What Obama-Era Precedent Is Next on the Chopping Block?

Keahn MorrisBy Keahn Morris on Posted in National Labor Relations Act, National Labor Relations Board, NLRB
On April 11, 2018, former management lawyer John Ring was confirmed via a 50-48 party-line vote to serve on the five-member National Labor Relations Board (“Board”). Ring will replace Chairman Marvin Kaplan, another member of the Board’s Republican majority appointed by President Trump. Ring’s confirmation sets the stage for undoing many Obama-era rulings that have … Continue Reading

Considering Offering Severance Pay in Exchange for Certain Post-Employment Obligations? Think Again.

Keahn MorrisBy Keahn Morris on Posted in National Labor Relations Act, NLRB, Union Issues
An employer violated employee’s labor rights by offering her a separation agreement that contained unlawful terms ruled a National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) administrative law judge (“ALJ”) in Baylor Univ. Med. Ctr., Case No. 16-CA-195335 (Fort Worth, TX, February 12, 2018) (“Baylor”). This decision is one of the first ALJ rulings to apply the NLRB’s … Continue Reading

Striking A New Balance – The NLRB Abandons the Lutheran Heritage Test and Devises a New Standard for Assessing the Facial Validity of Neutral Work Rules

Mark RossKeahn MorrisBy Mark Ross and Keahn Morris on Posted in National Labor Relations Act, National Labor Relations Board, Union Issues
In 2004, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) issued Lutheran Heritage Village-Livonia, 343 NLRB 646 (“Lutheran Heritage”), and held that the mere maintenance of a neutral work rule violated Section 8(a)(1) of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) if employees would reasonably construe the rule to prohibit union and other protected concerted activity (Section 7 … Continue Reading

New Labor Board May Kill “Quickie Election” Rule; Requests Public RFI

Keahn MorrisGaren DodgeBy Keahn Morris and Garen Dodge on Posted in Collective Bargaining, National Labor Relations Act, National Labor Relations Board, Union Issues
The NLRB announced yesterday, a Request for Information (“RFI”) on the Board’s 2014 “Quickie Election” representation regulations (at 29 CFR parts 101 and 102). The RFI seeks input on the amendments to representation case procedures, which drastically changed the process for NLRB conducted elections in which employees vote on whether they want to be represented … Continue Reading

New Labor Board GC Signals Overturning Obama-Era Rulings, But Anticipated Vacancies and Recusals Create Uncertainty

Keahn MorrisBy Keahn Morris on Posted in Collective Bargaining, National Labor Relations Act, National Labor Relations Board, Union Issues
On November 8, 2017, Peter B. Robb was sworn in as the General Counsel (GC) of the NLRB for a four year term. Robb succeeds Richard Griffin, who has been the GC since November 2013. Robb wasted no time in taking initial steps to undo many of the NLRB’s more controversial recent decisions. On December … Continue Reading

Labor Relations Update: New NLRB General Counsel Nominee Poised to Undo Obama-Era Precedents

Timothy KimBy Timothy Kim on Posted in Collective Bargaining, National Labor Relations Act, National Labor Relations Board, Union Issues
Senate Republicans recently confirmed William Emanuel, the second Trump nominee to the five-member National Labor Relations Board (the “Board”), giving the Board a Republican majority for the first time since 2007. Mr. Emanuel’s confirmation follows the September 25, 2017 appointment of Peter Robb, a management-side labor and employment lawyer, as General Counsel of the Board. Each … Continue Reading

Congress Considers National Right-To-Work Bill: Beginning of the End for Unions?

Garen DodgeAnna StancuBy Garen Dodge and Anna Stancu on Posted in National Labor Relations Act
Organized labor in the United States has experienced a steady decline in the last several decades, from a peak union membership rate of 35% during the mid-1950s to 10.7% in the year 2016.  For the private sector, the decline has been even more precipitous:  a mere 6.4% of private sector workers in the U.S. were … Continue Reading

National Labor Relations Board Issues Yet Another Decision Finding An Employer’s Work Rules Overly Broad

Ryan MunitzChidera AnyanwuBy Ryan Munitz and Chidera Anyanwu on Posted in Employee Handbooks, National Labor Relations Act, National Labor Relations Board
The National Labor Relations Board (“Board”) recently issued a decision that serves as a reminder for both union and non-union employers that the Board continues to take an aggressive stance on seemingly innocuous employment policies that the Board believes may chill an employee’s exercise of his or her Section 7 rights under the National Labor … Continue Reading

NLRB Allows Student Assistants to Unionize, Signals Commitment to Expanding Its Reach

Lindsay Colvin StoneBy Lindsay Colvin Stone on Posted in Collective Bargaining, National Labor Relations Act, National Labor Relations Board, NLRB
Last month, the National Labor Relations Board (the “NLRB” or “the Board”) reversed standing precedent and held that student assistants at private universities, including both graduate and undergraduate teaching and research assistants, qualify as “employees” under the National Labor Relations Act (“NLRA”) and may accordingly join unions to collectively bargain with their employers.  The case, … Continue Reading
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