NLRB

For the second time in less than a week, the National Labor Relations Board has thrown out a Trump-era standard and reinstated Obama-era rules favorable to labor unions. In Bexar County Performing Arts Center Foundation, 16-CA-193636 (“Bexar County II“), the Board restricted a business owner’s ability to prohibit off-duty contract workers from conducting labor protests on its property.… Continue Reading

Employers that violate the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) will have to pay workers additional damages under a recently issued precedential decision from the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB or Board). 

In Thryv, Inc., the NLRB ruled 3-2 that the Board’s standard remedy for make-whole relief should include consequential damages.  The Board now will “expressly order that the respondent compensate affected employees for all direct or foreseeable pecuniary harms suffered as a result of the respondent’s unfair labor practice” to more fully realize the concept of “make-whole relief” under Section 10(c) of the NLRA. … Continue Reading

The National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”)  has issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (“NPRM”) inviting public comment on a proposed rule that would rescind and replace an April 2020 rule which currently governs: 1) the filing and processing of petitions for a Board-conducted representation election while unfair labor practice charges are pending; and 2) the filing and processing of petitions following an employer’s voluntary recognition of a union as the majority-supported collective bargaining representative.… Continue Reading

Yesterday, the NLRB published a proposed rule designed to rescind and replace the Trump-era rule used to determine whether two companies are joint employers under the NLRA. Under the rule adopted during the Trump Administration, an employer can be a joint employer with another entity if it has substantial direct and immediate control over the essential terms and conditions of employment of the other entity’s workers.… Continue Reading

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) recently announced a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) resolving to enhance the enforcement of federal laws and regulations administered by these agencies, and to promote interagency collaboration through information sharing, cross-agency training, and coordinated outreach.  The stated goal is to “better root out practices that harm workers in the ‘gig economy’ and other labor markets.” … Continue Reading

Earlier this week, in an ongoing case between Cemex Construction Materials Pacific, LLC and International Brotherhood of Teamsters, NLRB General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo filed a brief calling for the Board to reinstate the 1949 Joy Silk Mills decision – which has not been enforced since the late 1960s.  Under Joy Silk, employers may be required to recognize and bargain with a labor group prior to an election when the union provides evidence of authorization cards signed by a majority of the employees in the proposed unit (known as a card check), unless they have clear evidence against the group’s majority support.… Continue Reading

On April 7, 2022, in a move that could dramatically alter long-established employer tactics in union organizing campaigns, National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo issued a memorandum announcing that she will ask the Board to find what are commonly known as “captive audience” meetings to constitute an unfair labor practice (ULP) under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA).… Continue Reading

On February 7, 2022, the Task Force on Worker Organizing and Empowerment publicly released its report to President Joe Biden, offering nearly 70 recommendations to promote pro-union policies and practices in the public and private sectors. The Task Force, chaired by Vice President Kamala Harris, embodies President Biden’s vow to be the “most pro-union President” in United States history.… Continue Reading

On February 1, 2022 National Labor Relations Board General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo announced an initiative to seek injunctions under Section 10(j) of the National Labor Relations Act in cases “where workers have been subject to threats or other coercive conduct during an organizing campaign.”  According to her memo, Abruzzo opines that, “because threats or other coercion have a well-recognized inhibitive effect on employees, there is a likelihood of immediate harm to employee organizing efforts.”… Continue Reading

The U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division (DOL-WHD) and National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) announced plans to collaborate “to enhance and maximize the enforcement of the federal laws administered between the two agencies.”  The DOL-WHD enforces the minimum wage and overtime requirements while the NLRB enforces the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA).… Continue Reading