Labor

  • June 07, 2024

    Ill. Judge Unmoved By 2nd Circ. In Starbucks Subpoena Row

    An Illinois federal judge declined to narrow a prior order letting Starbucks subpoena workers to boost its defense against a National Labor Relations Board injunction bid, saying a recent Second Circuit decision faulting the scope of a discovery grant in another Starbucks case doesn't apply.

  • June 07, 2024

    Union Says NYC Hotel Must Pay Severance Arbitration Award

    A hotel workers union urged a New York federal court to force a former operator of a shuttered Marriott hotel in Manhattan to pay $6 million in severance pay stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic, saying an arbitrator's award in the union's favor must be enforced.

  • June 07, 2024

    SpaceX Pans NLRB 'Gambit' In Injunction Battle

    The National Labor Relations Board's offer to pause an in-house suit against SpaceX is "merely a ploy" to stave off a Fifth Circuit decision backing the company's challenge to the agency's constitutionality, the rocket maker told a Texas federal judge.

  • June 07, 2024

    Southwest Attys Get Pause On 'Punitive' Religious Training

    In finding Friday that an order for several in-house Southwest Airlines attorneys to undergo "religious liberty training' should be permanently placed on hold while an appeal of a flight attendant's Title VII trial win is pending, the Fifth Circuit said the district court had likely exceeded "the scope of the court's civil-contempt authority."

  • June 07, 2024

    Cozen Adds Eckert Seamans Employment Pro In Boston

    Cozen O'Connor brought on a veteran employment lawyer from Eckert Seamans Cherin & Mellott LLC in Boston, who comes with experience working in the public sector that he said allows him to help companies navigate any type of employment suit that comes their way. 

  • June 07, 2024

    Calif. Forecast: $3.6M Freight Co. Wage Deal Up For Approval

    In the coming week, attorneys should keep an eye out for the potential initial sign-off on a more than $3.6 million deal to resolve a proposed wage and hour class action against freight carrier Oak Harbor Freight Lines Inc. Here's a look at that case and other labor and employment matters on deck in California.

  • June 07, 2024

    Driver's Wage Action Travels Back To State Court

    The Labor Management Relations Act doesn't preempt a driver's suit accusing two cold storage companies of wage and breaks violations, a California federal judge ruled, sending the case back to state court.

  • June 06, 2024

    NFL Says Labor Law Preempts Ex-Player's Estate's CTE Claim

    The National Football League isn't to blame for a former football player's head trauma, the league told a South Carolina federal judge, arguing federal labor law preempts a negligence claim from a representative of the ex-player's estate.

  • June 06, 2024

    MLBPA Says Bad Bunny Sports Firm Hurt By Its Own Actions

    The Major League Baseball Players Association told a Puerto Rico federal judge that the sports agency linked to music superstar Bad Bunny has grossly overstated the impact it had on the business, arguing it is the agency's actions, not the association's "unreasonable sanctions," that caused injury.

  • June 06, 2024

    Workers Ask NLRB To Reverse Whole Foods BLM Case Ruling

    Wearing Black Lives Matter apparel at Whole Foods is protected under federal labor law, a group of workers argued to the National Labor Relations Board, saying employees wore BLM masks and attire on the job to push the company to confront racial bias in the workplace.

  • June 06, 2024

    NLRB Official Dismisses Union Petition At Conn. Nightclub

    A National Labor Relations Board official has tossed a petition for a union representation election at a New Haven, Connecticut, nightclub, saying some of the workers the union sought to represent are security guards who cannot share a bargaining unit with nonguards.

  • June 06, 2024

    6th Circ. Backs Construction Co. Refusal Of Union's Audit Ask

    The Sixth Circuit upheld a Michigan construction company's defeat of a lawsuit seeking to compel an audit of company contributions to a union local's fringe benefit funds, saying the funds didn't have a valid contract with the company after a collective bargaining agreement expired.

  • June 05, 2024

    Union Asks NY Court To Toss Musicians' Representation Row

    An American Federation of Musicians local urged a New York federal court Wednesday to dismiss duty of fair representation claims from two orchestra musicians, arguing that the plaintiffs didn't raise allegations of "any plausible violation" of an arbitration award reinstating the duo.

  • June 05, 2024

    3rd Circ. Revives Union Harassment Claims Against County

    The Third Circuit revived claims Wednesday accusing Hudson County, New Jersey; its department of corrections; and three county employees of retaliating against a corrections officer because of his union activity, saying a federal judge tossed the allegations too soon.

  • June 05, 2024

    Worker's Sexual Harassment Suit Against Fiat Gets Tossed

    A Michigan federal judge has tossed a Fiat Chrysler employee's sexual harassment and retaliation claims against the company over the alleged actions of her union steward, saying the worker hadn't responded to a court order.

  • June 05, 2024

    Feds Sue To Recover $5.3M Stolen From Union In Email Scam

    Boston federal prosecutors said Wednesday they are helping a union recover about $5.3 million stolen through a complex business email compromise scheme.

  • June 05, 2024

    NLRB Official Preserves Union At Seattle Ship Repair Co.

    A group of machinist craft employees at a Seattle ship repair facility can't break away from their union and affiliate with a Carpenters local, a National Labor Relations Board official ruled, saying the multi-craft bargaining unit that has represented the facility's employees since the 1970s should remain in place.

  • June 05, 2024

    Public Input On EEOC/NLRB Memo A Must, US Rep. Says

    A coming joint memorandum from the nation's federal discrimination and labor law watchdogs addressing when workplace speech qualifies as unlawful harassment should be opened to public comment before being published, the Republican chairwoman of the House Education and the Workforce Committee said. 

  • June 04, 2024

    NLRB Judge OKs Hospital's Bonuses For Newly Hired Nurses

    A New York hospital violated federal labor law when it withheld information that its nurses' union requested about recruitment bonuses, but not when it offered those bonuses to a few new hires without discussing it with the union, a National Labor Relations Board judge ruled Tuesday.

  • June 04, 2024

    Airlines Seek Shield From Chicago's New Paid Sick Leave Law

    The trade group representing the largest U.S. airlines alleged in a federal lawsuit Tuesday that Chicago's new paid sick leave law cannot be enforced against airlines because it interferes with flight crew staffing and scheduling in violation of federal law and collective bargaining agreements.

  • June 04, 2024

    Amazon Union Moves To Fold Into Teamsters Amid Struggles

    The Amazon Labor Union, an independent union representing workers at a warehouse in Staten Island, New York, has taken steps to affiliate with the Teamsters ahead of an election to seat new officers.

  • June 04, 2024

    UC System Plans To Sue Grad Workers' Union Over Strike

    The University of California system is planning to sue its graduate student workers' union over a Gaza-related strike that has spread to five campuses, saying state court is the next step now that a state labor-management relations agency has declined to halt the work stoppage.

  • June 04, 2024

    Widow's 'Elderly' Claim For Atty Fee Can't Stand, Trustees Say

    A coal company executive's widow can't demand hundreds of thousands of dollars in attorney fees over a dismissed suit seeking $6.5 billion, United Mine Workers of America pension plan trustees argued, knocking her claim that the trustees are seeking funds from an "elderly woman."

  • June 04, 2024

    Ogletree Opens 7th California Office In Fresno

    Ogletree Deakins Nash Smoak & Stewart PC has opened an office in Fresno, California, absorbing a location previously operated by Raimondo Miller ALC and its five attorneys, the firm has announced.

  • June 04, 2024

    Former Security Co. Worker Sued Union Too Late, Judge Says

    A discharged employee of a Texas security guard firm missed the deadline to sue his union for failing to fight hard enough for his reinstatement, an Arizona federal judge ruled, tossing the suit but giving him another shot to prove he sued on time.

Expert Analysis

  • Cos. Must Stay On Alert With Joint Employer Rule In Flux

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    While employers may breathe a sigh of relief at recent events blocking the National Labor Relations Board's proposed rule that would make it easier for two entities to be deemed joint employers, the rule is not yet dead, say attorneys at ​​​​​​​Day Pitney.

  • One Contract Fix Can Reduce Employer Lawsuit Exposure

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    A recent Fifth Circuit ruling that saved FedEx over $365 million highlights how a one-sentence limitation provision on an employment application or in an at-will employment agreement may be the easiest cost-savings measure for employers against legal claims, say Sara O'Keefe and William Wortel at BCLP.

  • Water Cooler Talk: Sick Leave Insights From 'Parks And Rec'

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    Tracey Diamond and Evan Gibbs at Troutman Pepper spoke with Lisa Whittaker at the J.M. Smucker Co. about how to effectively manage sick leave policies to ensure legal compliance and fairness to all employees, in a discussion inspired by a "Parks and Recreation" episode.

  • 3 Employer Lessons From NLRB's Complaint Against SpaceX

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    Severance agreements traditionally have included nondisparagement and nondisclosure provisions as a matter of course — but a recent National Labor Relations Board complaint against SpaceX underscores the ongoing efforts to narrow severance agreements at the state and federal levels, say attorneys at Williams & Connolly.

  • Time For Congress To Let Qualified Older Pilots Keep Flying

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    While a previous Law360 guest article affirmed the current law requiring airline pilots to retire at age 65, the facts suggest that the pilots, their unions, the airlines and the flying public will all benefit if Congress allows experienced, medically qualified aviators to stay in the cockpit, say Allen Baker and Bo Ellis at Let Experienced Pilots Fly.

  • Game-Changing Decisions Call For New Rules At The NCAA

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    From a newly formed college players union to coaches transferring at the drop of a hat, the National College Athletic Association needs an overhaul, including federal supervision, says Frank Darras at DarrasLaw.

  • What Makes Unionization In Financial Services Unique

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    Only around 1% of financial services employees are part of a union, but that number is on the rise, presenting both unique opportunities and challenges for the employers and employees that make up a sector typically devoid of union activity, say Amanda Fugazy and Steven Nevolis at Ellenoff Grossman.

  • Assessing Work Rules After NLRB Handbook Ruling

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    The National Labor Relations Board's Stericycle decision last year sparked uncertainty surrounding whether historically acceptable work rules remain lawful — but employers can use a two-step analysis to assess whether to implement a given rule and how to do so in a compliant manner, say attorneys at Seyfarth.

  • A Look At Global Employee Disconnect Laws For US Counsel

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    As countries worldwide adopt employee right to disconnect laws, U.S. in-house counsel at corporations with a global workforce must develop a comprehensive understanding of the laws' legal and cultural implications, ensuring their companies can safeguard employee welfare while maintaining legal compliance, say Emma Corcoran and Ute Krudewagen at DLA Piper.

  • Employers Beware Of NLRB Changes On Bad Faith Bargaining

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    Recent National Labor Relations Board decisions show a trend of the agency imposing harsher remedies on employers for bad faith bargaining over union contracts, a position upheld in the Ninth Circuit's recent NLRB v. Grill Concepts Services decision, says Daniel Johns at Cozen O'Connor.

  • Practicing Law With Parkinson's Disease

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    This Parkinson’s Awareness Month, Adam Siegler at Greenberg Traurig discusses his experience working as a lawyer with Parkinson’s disease, sharing both lessons on how to cope with a diagnosis and advice for supporting colleagues who live with the disease.

  • What A Post-Chevron Landscape Could Mean For Labor Law

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    With the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling on Chevron deference expected by the end of June, it’s not too soon to consider how National Labor Relations Act interpretations could be affected if federal courts no longer defer to administrative agencies’ statutory interpretation and regulatory actions, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • Eye On Compliance: Employee Social Media Privacy In NY

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    A New York law that recently took effect restricts employers' ability to access the personal social media accounts of employees and job applicants, signifying an increasing awareness of the need to balance employers' interests with worker privacy and free speech rights, says Madjeen Garcon-Bonneau at Wilson Elser.