NLRB

Reversing decades of precedent, the National Labor Relations Board (“Board”) issued two recent decisions that will significantly restrict the right of employers to provide information to their employees about the impact of unionization.  Both cases were decided by a 3-1 majority of the Board’s Democratic members, in what appears to be an eleventh-hour push to change well-settled law in advance of the Trump administration taking the reins next year.… Continue Reading

In a 3-1 decision, the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB” or “Board”) ended the agency’s practice of approving “consent orders,” which permitted an administrative law judge to resolve an unfair labor practice case before adjudication based on terms offered solely by the respondent.  The Board’s decision will make it more difficult for employers to settle cases at the NLRB unless they are willing to accept the full remedy sought by the general counsel. … Continue Reading

In its continuing repudiation of policies developed under the Trump Administration, the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB” or “Board”) has published its Fair Choice-Employee Voice Final Rule.

In April of 2020,  the Board published a final rule addressing various union representation issues: (1) union elections while unfair labor practice (“ULP”) charges are pending, (2) voluntary recognition procedures, and (3) Section 9(a) recognition in the construction industry.… Continue Reading

A unanimous decision from the United States Supreme Court, issued on June 13, 2024, settles the split among the circuit courts concerning the factors to be considered by a court in considering a request by the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) to obtain an injunction under Section 10(j) of the National Labor Relations Act (“NLRA”) against an employer during the pendency of NLRB administrative proceedings and raises the bar that must be satisfied by the NLRB for such injunctive relief

The decision in in Starbucks Corp.… Continue Reading

On March 8, 2024, a Texas federal district court vacated the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB” or “the Board”) 2023 joint employer rule (“2023 Rule), and restored the 2020 joint employer rule (“2020 Rule”).

As we previously reported, the NLRB proposed the 2023 Rule for determining joint employer status under the National Labor Relations Act (“NLRA”).… Continue Reading

On Monday, February 5, a Regional Director of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) issued a ruling that Dartmouth College basketball players are employees of the school, allowing them to vote on unionizing. The NLRB’s Boston Regional Director, Laura Sacks, issued her opinion after all 15 members of the Dartmouth men’s basketball team signed a petition on September 13, 2023 to be represented by the Service Employees International Union, Local 560, a union which already represents some of the school’s employees.… Continue Reading

By Brian D. Pedrow and Shannon N. Attalla

On May 1, in its Lion Elastomers decision, the Board overruled Trump-era precedent (General Motors) that made it easier for employers to discipline workers for outbursts in the context of workplace activism and union-related activity.  The Board reinstated prior precedent (Atlantic Steel and its progeny) that provides more leeway for worker outbursts when engaging in activities protected under the National Labor Relations Act, reasoning that this context is different from ordinary workplace exchanges. … Continue Reading

The focus remains on the National Labor Relations Board’s (Board or NLRB) ruling in February that asking employees to sign separation agreements with confidentiality and non-disparagement clauses is unlawful.  Most recently, the Board urged the Sixth Circuit to enforce its February 21, 2023 decision in McLaren Macomb and Local 40 RN Staff Council, Office and Professional Employees, International Union (OPEIU), AFL-CIO, which found that the company had violated Section 8(a)(1) of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) when it offered a separation agreement to 11 furloughed bargaining members that included a broad non-disparagement provision and a provision treating the agreement as confidential. … Continue Reading

Last month, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) ruled that an employer violates Section 8(a)(1) of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA or Act) when the employer offers employee severance agreements with provisions restricting employees’ Section 7 rights under the Act, such as with overly broad confidentiality and non-disparagement provisions.  McLaren Macomb, 372 NLRB No.… Continue Reading

In a divided decision handed down yesterday, January 17, the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit partially affirmed the decision of a federal District Court eliminating, in part, aspects of an employer-friendly 2019 Rule put in place by the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) to “ensure fair and accurate voting, transparency, uniformity, certainty and finality, and efficiency” in the union election process by, in effect, slowing some of the Obama-era NLRB’s “quickie election” procedures.  … Continue Reading