Labor

  • May 21, 2025

    NLRB Judge Axes Firing Case Against Illinois Bottling Facility

    A Chicago-area beverage bottling facility did not violate federal labor law when it fired a maintenance worker, a National Labor Relations Board judge ruled Wednesday, saying the evidence did not support board prosecutors' contention that the worker was fired for expressing interest in joining a union.

  • May 21, 2025

    Sprinkler Co. Illegally Halted Contributions, NLRB Judge Says

    A sprinkler installation company in Pennsylvania violated federal labor law by not contributing to benefit funds for union-represented workers and remitting their dues, a National Labor Relations Board judge concluded, ordering the business to hand over payments that weren't made dating back nearly three years.

  • May 21, 2025

    Ky. Judge Nixes Treasury's Bid To End Labor Contracts

    The U.S. Department of the Treasury lacks standing to seek an order allowing it to lawfully terminate its labor contracts with a federal employee union, a Kentucky federal judge ruled, finding the agency's alleged harm is based on speculation about the potential consequences of enforcing an executive order.

  • May 21, 2025

    Cannabis Sellers Win Fight Against Oregon Labor Peace Law

    An Oregon federal judge shot down a state law that required cannabis growers to sign agreements with labor unions before they could get licensed to sell, saying the United for Cannabis Workers Act is preempted by the National Labor Relations Act.

  • May 21, 2025

    Democracy Forward Adds Another Ex-DOJ Hand

    Legal advocacy group Democracy Forward has added a former deputy associate U.S. attorney general and co-chair of the Supreme Court and appellate practice at WilmerHale to its ranks of former U.S. Department of Justice litigators.

  • May 20, 2025

    Nexstar Seeks Redo Of 2nd Circ.'s NLRB Ruling Enforcement

    The National Labor Relations Board should stop kicking the can down the road and rule on whether employers must compensate workers for the lost opportunity to bargain, Nexstar Media Inc. told the Second Circuit, asking the court to reconsider a decision that let the board postpone answering the question.

  • May 20, 2025

    Nonprofits Seek To Block 'Sweeping' AmeriCorps Cuts

    A number of education, environmental and housing nonprofits have asked a Maryland federal judge to block the firing of thousands of AmeriCorps employees and the cancellation of $400 million to its programs, saying the move violates core constitutional principles regarding separation of powers that have already had severe consequences.

  • May 20, 2025

    Unions Walk Tightrope When Members Split On Mideast War

    A recent National Labor Relations Board charge accusing a legal aid union of discriminating against Jewish members by opposing an employer's rule that restricts speech about the Israel-Hamas war tests the bounds of unions' obligations to represent all workers when they're split on a divisive identity issue.

  • May 20, 2025

    Gov't Says Unions Too Slow In Calling For Halt Of Restructure

    President Donald Trump called for a California federal judge to tank an injunction bid from unions and advocacy groups about his executive order instructing agencies to plan for reductions in force, arguing the request was delayed and the district court lacks jurisdiction.

  • May 20, 2025

    GOP Lawmakers Defend Stricter Independent Contractor Bill

    Republicans on a U.S. House subcommittee Tuesday pushed for passing a recently introduced bill that would tighten standards for classifying workers as independent contractors, while Democrats feared moving in that direction would significantly hurt workers.

  • May 20, 2025

    SAG-AFTRA Battles Use Of Fortnite's AI Darth Vader At NLRB

    The developer behind the video game Fortnite violated federal labor law by not negotiating with SAG-AFTRA before using artificial intelligence to voice Darth Vader, the union alleged in an unfair labor practice charge, claiming the company's AI use takes away work from bargaining unit members.

  • May 20, 2025

    Unions Eye Nix Of NJ Transit Suit Over Picket Line

    Two unions sued by NJ Transit over their refusal to cross the picket line in the now-resolved rail strike told a New Jersey federal court that since their members have returned to work, the case is now moot.

  • May 20, 2025

    1st Circ. Tosses Puerto Rican Players' MLB Antitrust Appeal

    The First Circuit has dismissed an appeal in a wage-fixing antitrust action filed by minor league players against the MLB and its teams, finding the players committed a critical error by not objecting to a federal magistrate judge's recommendation to dismiss the underlying case.

  • May 20, 2025

    UAW Local Agrees To DOL Oversight Of Next Officers' Election

    A United Auto Workers local in Warren, Michigan, has agreed to let the U.S. Department of Labor supervise its next officers election, a few months after the U.S. secretary of labor claimed the union's election committee mishandled recordkeeping and ballot oversight during a vote a year ago.

  • May 19, 2025

    Trump Admin Fights Bid To Block OPM From Helping DOGE

    A trio of unions can't substantiate their claims that the U.S. Office of Personnel Management is inappropriately disclosing sensitive data to the Department of Government Efficiency, the Trump administration has told a New York federal judge, asking her to toss the unions' injunction request.

  • May 19, 2025

    Employers Expect NLRB GC Memo To Ease Settlement Talks

    Acting National Labor Relations Board general counsel William Cowen has loosened requirements for board officials to approve settlements of unfair labor practice allegations, reversing course from his predecessor's approach in a memo that experts said will likely ease deal negotiations.

  • May 19, 2025

    Symphony Tells 11th Circ. NLRB's Impasse Order Can't Stand

    The Eleventh Circuit must not defer to the National Labor Relations Board's credibility conclusions in finding that a Florida symphony wasn't at an impasse when it implemented a final bargaining offer, the symphony contended, saying the board wrongly disregarded an agency judge's determinations about the facts.

  • May 19, 2025

    NLRB Attys Drop Push For Change In Disclosure Standard

    National Labor Relations Board prosecutors no longer have a Trump-era ruling on employers' disclosure responsibilities in their crosshairs, telling the board Monday that they're no longer seeking reconsideration of its 2019 decision in Arlington Metals Corp.

  • May 19, 2025

    Feds Say Unions' Downsizing Suit Should Be Tossed

    The Trump administration urged a federal judge in D.C. to toss a lawsuit challenging three federal downsizing initiatives, arguing that the claims brought by labor unions representing federal employees belong before the agency charged with adjudicating such disputes.

  • May 19, 2025

    Taxpayer Data Increasingly At Risk From DOGE, Court Told

    A group of unions and advocacy organizations trying to block the White House's Department of Government Efficiency from accessing confidential taxpayer data told a D.C. federal court they fear the data is already being shared with federal agencies beyond the IRS.

  • May 19, 2025

    Electric, Nuclear Valve Co. Escape Pension Dispute

    A federally owned electric company and a contractor were not required to make pension fund contributions to a plumbers and steamfitters union because the contracted valve work was an exempt specialty contract, a Tennessee federal judge ruled in a lawsuit Monday.

  • May 19, 2025

    9th Circ. Backs Family's Win In Suit Over Denied Benefits

    The Ninth Circuit declined to upend a guild member's win in his lawsuit challenging his healthcare plan's decision to deny coverage for his son's mental health treatments, but said a lower court was wrong to award the family additional damages on their breach of fiduciary duty claim.

  • May 19, 2025

    Split DC Circ. Pauses Halt On Trump's Union Rights Order

    A divided D.C. Circuit panel greenlighted President Donald Trump's request to pause a lower court decision that blocked the implementation of an executive order aimed at ending collective bargaining rights for federal employees, concluding the injunction ruling "ties the government's hands."

  • May 16, 2025

    DC Circ. Judges Skeptical Of Blockade On CFPB Mass Layoffs

    A D.C. Circuit panel majority Friday sounded inclined to lift lower court restrictions on what the Trump administration contends is its lawful push to "radically downsize" the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, potentially clearing the way for mass layoffs of its staff.

  • May 16, 2025

    NJ Transit Calls Unions' Refusal To Cross Picket Line Unlawful

    NJ Transit has hit two unions with lawsuits in New Jersey federal court over a rail strike that began Friday, accusing a Teamsters unit and the American Train Dispatchers Association of violating the Railway Labor Act by refusing to cross another Teamsters unit's picket line.

Expert Analysis

  • Water Cooler Talk: Takeaways From 'It Ends With Us' Suits

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    Troutman’s Tracey Diamond and Emily Schifter discuss how the lawsuits filed by “It Ends With Us” stars Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni hold major lessons about workplace harassment, retaliation and employee digital media use.

  • Issues To Watch At ABA's Antitrust Spring Meeting

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    Attorneys at Freshfields consider the future of antitrust law and competition enforcement amid agency leadership changes and other emerging developments likely to dominate discussion at the American Bar Association's Antitrust Spring Meeting this week.

  • NLRB Firing May Need Justices' Input On Removal Power

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    President Donald Trump's unprecedented removal of National Labor Relations Board member Gwynne Wilcox spurred a lawsuit that is sure to be closely watched, as it may cause the U.S. Supreme Court to reexamine a 1935 precedent that has limited the president's removal powers, say attorneys at Kelley Drye.

  • Weathering Policy Zig-Zags In Gov't Contracting Under Trump

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    To succeed amid the massive shift in federal contracting policies heralded by President Donald Trump's return to office, contractors should be prepared for increased costs and enhanced False Claims Act enforcement, and to act swiftly to avail themselves of contractual remedies, says Jacob Scott at Smith Currie.

  • Making The Case For Rest In The Legal Profession

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    For too long, a culture of overwork has plagued the legal profession, but research shows that attorneys need rest to perform optimally and sustainably, so legal organizations and individuals must implement strategies that allow for restoration, says Marissa Alert at MDA Wellness, Carol Ross-Burnett at CRB Global, and Denise Robinson at The Still Center.

  • 2 Areas Of Labor Law That May Change Under Trump

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    Based on President Donald Trump's recent moves, employers should expect to see significant changes in the direction of law coming out of the National Labor Relations Board, particularly in two areas where the Trump administration will seek to roll back the Biden NLRB's changes, says Daniel Johns at Cozen O’Connor.

  • Water Cooler Talk: 'Late Night' Shows DEI Is More Than Optics

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    Amid the shifting legal landscape for corporate diversity, equity and inclusion programs, Troutman's Tracey Diamond and Emily Schifter chat with their firm's DEI committee chair, Nicole Edmonds, about how the 2019 film "Late Night" reflects the challenges and rewards of fostering meaningful inclusion.

  • Considerations As Trump Admin Continues To Curtail CFPB

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    Recent sweeping moves from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's new leadership have signaled a major shift in the agency's trajectory, and regulated entities should prepare for broader implications in both the near and long term, say attorneys at Pryor Cashman.

  • NCAA Rulings Signal Game Change For Athlete Classification

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    A Tennessee federal court's recent decision in Pavia v. NCAA adds to a growing call to consider classifying college athletes as employees under federal law, a change that would have unexpected, potentially prohibitive costs for schools, says J.R. Webster Cucovatz at Gilson Daub.

  • How DOGE's Severance Plan May Affect Federal Employees

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    President Donald Trump's administration, working through the Department of Government Efficiency, recently offered a severance package to nearly all of the roughly 2 million federal employees, but unanswered questions about the offer, coupled with several added protections for government workers, led to fewer accepted offers than expected, says Aaron Peskin at Kang Haggerty.

  • Rethinking 'No Comment' For Clients Facing Public Crises

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    “No comment” is no longer a cost-free or even a viable public communications strategy for companies in crisis, and counsel must tailor their guidance based on a variety of competing factors to help clients emerge successfully, says Robert Bowers at Moore & Van Allen.

  • Axed ALJ Removal Protections Mark Big Shift For NLRB

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    A D.C. federal court's recent decision in VHS Acquisition Subsidiary No. 7 v. National Labor Relations Board removed long-standing tenure protections for administrative law judges by finding they must be removable at will by the NLRB, marking a significant shift in the agency's ability to prosecute and adjudicate cases, say attorneys at Proskauer.

  • The Future Of ALJs At NLRB And DOL Post-Jarkesy

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    In the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2024 Jarkesy ruling, several ongoing challenges to the constitutionality of the U.S. Department of Labor's and the National Labor Relations Board's administrative law judges have the potential to significantly shape the future of administrative tribunals, say attorneys at Wiley Rein.

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