Labor

  • August 31, 2023

    NLRB Urges 9th Circ. To Keep Restaurant Bargaining Decision

    A Los Angeles restaurant failed to bargain in good faith with a UNITE HERE local before COVID-19 hit and can't use the pandemic as an excuse to duck the union, the National Labor Relations Board told the Ninth Circuit, urging the appeals court to uphold a board decision from December.

  • August 31, 2023

    ​​​​​​​NLRB Says DC Circ. Shouldn't Rehear Ballot Signature Spat

    The D.C. Circuit must deny a Colorado hospital's bid for reconsideration of the appeals court's ruling that a nurse cast a valid ballot in a close union representation election, the NLRB argued, saying the signature on the ballot followed agency rules. 

  • August 31, 2023

    US Chamber Tells Senate To Hold Off On NLRB Nomination

    The U.S. Chamber of Commerce told the U.S. Senate that Gwynne Wilcox's nomination for another term on the National Labor Relations Board should not move to a final vote until President Joe Biden nominates a Republican to the board.

  • August 31, 2023

    Labor Law Protects Advocacy For Nonemployees, NLRB Says

    The National Labor Relations Board held in a decision released Thursday that federal labor law protects workers who advocate for nonemployees, such as interns, reversing a Trump-era ruling that allowed employers to punish workers for aiding unprotected colleagues.

  • August 31, 2023

    Musk Tweet Wasn't Threat, Tesla Tells Full 5th Circ.

    Elon Musk's tweet questioning why Tesla employees at a California plant would pay union dues is protected by the First Amendment, the company said, telling the full Fifth Circuit that a panel erred in upholding the National Labor Relations Board's ruling to delete the tweet.

  • August 31, 2023

    NLRB Boosts Protections For Solo Job Actions

    Federal labor law protects protests by individual workers that could prompt future group actions, the National Labor Relations Board said in a decision released Thursday, lowering its bar for concluding that single-worker actions constitute protected organizing activity.

  • August 30, 2023

    NLRB Judge Says Bus Co. Rejected Steward Over Union Work

    A Washington, D.C., bus contractor violated federal labor law by refusing to rehire a former employee because of his union activism, a National Labor Relations Board judge said Wednesday, citing a "record laden with animus" toward the worker's labor activity.

  • August 30, 2023

    NYC Fire Inspectors Reach $29.2M Deal In Race, Pay Bias Suit

    New York City has agreed to pay $29.2 million to end a class action alleging that white fire protection inspectors were subjected to the same racist pay disparities their nonwhite colleagues alleged they faced, according to a Wednesday filing in federal court.

  • August 30, 2023

    Gallup Poll Finds Slight Dip In Pro-Labor Sentiments

    Americans' support for unions dipped from a multi-decade high this year but remains strong amid a series of high-profile strikes and contract negotiations, according to data released Wednesday by polling service Gallup.

  • August 30, 2023

    Brewing Union Can Comprise 2 Facilities, NLRB Official Says

    Workers at two separate facilities of a Georgia brewery hold jobs that are similar enough to be part of the same union, a National Labor Relations Board official ruled, approving the union election.

  • August 30, 2023

    Ohio Labor Nonprofit To Pay $32K To Settle EEOC ADA Suit

    A workforce development nonprofit in Cleveland will pay $32,000 to settle an Equal Employment Opportunity suit alleging it gave an employee with breast cancer no choice but to quit by refusing to let her work remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic, the agency said Tuesday.

  • August 30, 2023

    NLRB Reverses Rulings On Employer Unilateral Changes

    Employers cannot make certain types of unilateral changes to their workers' job conditions after the expiration of a labor contract or during negotiation of an initial deal, even if the change was in line with past practice, the National Labor Relations Board said Wednesday, reversing two Trump-era decisions.

  • August 30, 2023

    US Pushes For 1st USMCA Probe Into Services Industry

    The U.S. has called on Mexico to investigate whether a Mexican air freight company was retaliating against pilots due to their union membership, the Biden administration announced Wednesday.

  • August 30, 2023

    These Firms Have The Most Women In Equity Partnerships

    The legal industry still has a long way to go before it can achieve gender parity at its upper levels. But these law firms are performing better than others in breaking the proverbial glass ceiling that prevents women from attaining leadership roles.

  • August 30, 2023

    5th Circ. Backs NLRB, Finds Biz's Anti-Union Efforts Illegal

    A Texas maintenance company violated labor law by refusing to bargain with a newly established union and threatening workers that they would lose their jobs if they supported a union, the Fifth Circuit ruled, upholding a National Labor Relations Board decision.

  • August 30, 2023

    DOL Unveils Rule To Raise Overtime Threshold

    The U.S. Department of Labor said Wednesday that it is putting forward a rule to raise the salary threshold under which employees are eligible for overtime pay under federal labor law.

  • August 29, 2023

    NLRB Says Co. Illegally Disciplined Workers Over Sick Days

    A medical waste management company violated federal labor law by disciplining workers for using sick days, the National Labor Relations Board concluded, with board member Gwynne A. Wilcox sharing a willingness to reconsider agency precedent over bargaining rights.

  • August 29, 2023

    NLRB Says Exxon Retaliated In Case Redo Over Conflicts

    The National Labor Relations Board said an Exxon Mobil unit violated federal labor law by refusing to negotiate an absence policy as punishment for a union's aggression and telling workers they'd be better off without a union, revisiting a 2020 decision the board nullified over a former member's conflicts.

  • August 29, 2023

    OSHA Floats Rule Letting Unions Join Workplace Inspections

    The U.S. Department of Labor issued a draft rule Tuesday that would let union representatives and other nonemployees join federal safety inspectors on workplace walkthroughs, angling to revive a stricken Obama-era policy.

  • August 29, 2023

    3rd Circ. Says Builders Group Can't Sue Over Labor Accords

    A Pennsylvania builders group and some of its members don't have standing to challenge a union trades council's project labor agreements with a community college and a local government, the Third Circuit ruled Tuesday, saying the group hasn't shown impending harms from the accords.

  • August 29, 2023

    9th Circ. Revives Challenge To SF Healthy Airport Ordinance

    A divided Ninth Circuit panel on Tuesday revived an airline lobby's preemption challenge of a San Francisco ordinance expanding airport workers' health care benefits, saying the city acted as a regulator by invoking hefty civil penalties to coerce airlines to comply.

  • August 29, 2023

    NLRB Urges 5th Circ. To Uphold Its Bargaining Order

    The National Labor Relations Board was right to order a legal support consulting firm to negotiate with a union, as the board has jurisdiction to determine whether the workers involved are supervisors, the board has told the Fifth Circuit.

  • August 29, 2023

    AFL-CIO President Touts High Union Support Amid Strikes

    AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler on Tuesday declared organized labor "on the rise" as she touted new polling showing overwhelming support for unions among all voters and particularly those under the age of 30.

  • August 29, 2023

    Trader Joe's Union Uses New Standard To Ask For Bargaining

    Trader Joe's United urged the National Labor Relations Board to issue a bargaining order under its new Cemex standard, according to an announcement from the union Tuesday, saying the grocery chain should be required to negotiate after committing unfair labor practices at a New York City store.

  • August 29, 2023

    Teamsters Slam Yellow Corp. For 'Forum Shopping' Suit

    The International Brotherhood of Teamsters has accused Yellow Corp. of "brazen forum shopping" by trying to move claims the union drove the trucking company into Chapter 11 into bankruptcy court before the union's motion to dismiss the case can be heard.

Expert Analysis

  • To Avoid A Rail Strike, Congress Tread A Well-Worn Path

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    While the congressional legislation President Joe Biden signed this week to avoid a national rail shutdown may seem extraordinary, interventions of this sort have been used a dozen times since the passage of the Railway Labor Act in 1926, making them far from unprecedented, says Charles Shewmake at Holland & Knight.

  • IRS Starts Clock On Energy Projects' Labor Rule Exemption

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    A U.S. Department of the Treasury notice published this week started the 60-day clock for clean energy projects seeking to be grandfathered from having to meet new labor requirements to qualify for enhanced tax credits, and uncertainty about how the provisions will apply should be incentive for some investors to begin construction soon, say attorneys at Eversheds Sutherland.

  • Top 10 Labor And Employment Issues In M&A Transactions

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    In order to ensure that M&A transactions come to fruition in the current uncertain environment, companies should keep several labor and employment issues in mind during the due diligence process to minimize risk, says Cassidy Mara at Akerman.

  • Does NLRA Preempt Suits Against Unions For Strike Damage?

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    The U.S. Supreme Court is taking up Glacier v. Teamsters Local 174, whose central issue is whether the National Labor Relations Act preempts state lawsuits brought against unions for causing property damage while conducting strikes, which will affect the balance of power between unions and employers during labor disputes, say Michael Warner and Jenny Lee at Franczek.

  • How Employers Can Prevent And Remedy Antisemitism

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    The Brooklyn Nets' recent suspension of Kyrie Irving for espousing antisemitism is a reminder that employers must not tolerate discrimination in the workplace, and should should take steps to stop and abate the effects of the antisemitism, says Amy Epstein Gluck at FisherBroyles.

  • Steps For 'Boys Markets' Relief For Unlawful Union Strikes

    Excerpt from Practical Guidance
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    Tony Torain at Polsinelli offers employers a practical guide to applying for injunctive relief when faced with unlawful union strikes, using principles based on the 1970 U.S. Supreme Court decision in Boys Markets v. Retail Clerks Union.

  • Employers Should Note Post-Midterms State Law Changes

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    State ballot measures in the recent midterm elections could require employers to update policies related to drug use, wages, collective bargaining and benefit plans that offer access to abortion care — a reminder of the challenges in complying with the ever-changing patchwork of state workplace laws, say attorneys at Jackson Lewis.

  • Weighing Workplace Surveillance For Remote Workers

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    Workers who opt to continue working remotely after the COVID-19 pandemic remain under the watchful eye of their employers even from their own homes, but given the potential legal risks and adverse impacts on employee well-being, employers must create transparent policies and should reconsider their use of monitoring technologies at all, says Melissa Tribble at Sanford Heisler.

  • Don't Ignore NLRA When Using Employee Resource Groups

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    Companies often celebrate the benefits of employee resource groups when recruiting in a tight labor market, and while it’s not common to associate National Labor Relations Act protections with ERGs, employers should assess the potential for labor claims when using this worker engagement tool, says Daniel Johns at Cozen O’Connor.

  • My Favorite Law Prof: How I Learned Education Never Ends

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    D.C. Circuit Judge David Tatel reflects on what made Bernard Meltzer a brilliant teacher and one of his favorite professors at the University of Chicago Law School, and how Meltzer’s teachings extended well past graduation and guided Judge Tatel through some complicated opinions.

  • How The NLRA May Slow Down The FAST Act

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    California's Fast Food Accountability and Standards Recovery Act takes on many of the activities already managed by the National Labor Relations Act and may give rise to arguments that the new law is federally preempted, say attorneys at Greenberg Traurig.

  • Cos. Must Consider Union Vs. Nonunion Employee Treatment

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    The National Labor Relations Board’s recent actions challenging Starbucks' exclusion of union employees from new benefits may guide employers on the treatment of union-represented employees versus others that are not, but companies should still beware of the NLRB’s tendency to shift positions with different administrations, says Hugh Murray at McCarter & English.

  • How NLRB Status Quo Rule Change Affects Employers

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    In its recent Pittsburgh Post-Gazette decision, the National Labor Relations Board changed the application of the corollary to a rule that requires maintaining the status quo after a bargaining agreement expires, which could negatively affect employers by complicating operational decisions, says James Redeker at Duane Morris.

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