Labor

  • March 28, 2024

    NLRB Judge Finds Buffalo Starbucks Firings Illegal

    Starbucks violated federal labor law by constructively discharging a former barista in Buffalo, New York, who is now a union spokesperson, a National Labor Relations Board judge ruled, while dismissing other unfair labor practice allegations against the coffee chain involving cut hours and failure to negotiate over discipline.

  • March 28, 2024

    As Calif. Fast-Food Wages Rise, Carveouts Bring Concerns

    Days before a $20 hourly minimum wage for California fast-food workers takes effect, a last-minute law containing exemptions brings relief but also concerns to employers, attorneys said. Here, Law360 explores A.B. 610.

  • March 28, 2024

    AFL-CIO Names Ex-CWA General Counsel For Advocacy Role

    Union federation AFL-CIO announced it has named an experienced attorney who spent nearly 25 years working on government and labor movement matters, including a stint as general counsel with the Communications Workers of America, as its new director of advocacy.

  • March 28, 2024

    Amazon Overreached With Subpoenas, NLRB Judge Says

    Amazon can't force a group of pro-union employees to reveal what they've told National Labor Relations Board prosecutors during investigations into the company's union response, an NLRB judge ruled, trimming a series of subpoenas issued to the workers.

  • March 27, 2024

    Sega Workers Ratify 1st Contract In 'Landmark Moment'

    Unionized Sega of America workers backed the ratification of their first contract with the video game giant, according to an announcement from the union Wednesday, saying the parties agreed to raises, benefits and other protections for workers.

  • March 27, 2024

    DC Circuit Upholds NLRB Firing Decision Despite Legal Shift

    The D.C. Circuit upheld an NLRB ruling that a Cadillac dealer illegally fired a worker even though the board changed the applicable precedent during the appeal, saying Wednesday that the long-running case appears to shake out the same under either version of the shifting standard for worker outbursts.

  • March 27, 2024

    Hospital Co. Can't Quash ERISA Suit Subpoenas, Judge Says

    A Buffalo, New York-area hospital network lost its bid to quash two subpoenas in a proposed Employee Retirement Income Security Act class action Wednesday, with a New York federal judge ruling that the network challenged the subpoenas to two of its advisers in the wrong court.

  • March 27, 2024

    Black Workers' Race Bias Suit Against Union Can't Proceed

    A group of Black workers can't bring race bias allegations against a union, a federal international trade judge concluded, dismissing a proposed class action complaint that claimed the union had a "long history of discrimination" against Black people.

  • March 27, 2024

    Governor Directs Pa. To Use More Project Labor Agreements

    Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro announced Wednesday that he is directing state agencies to consider including project labor agreements — pre-hiring collective bargaining agreements that can cover multiple contractors and labor unions — in all major capital projects.

  • March 27, 2024

    Employers Wary Of NLRB GC's Work Rule Remedy Push

    The National Labor Relations Board's top prosecutor is pushing to expand available remedies for workers whose employers discipline them under unlawfully overbroad work rules, prompting concerns from employers that the initiative could result in a complicated process for determining who is entitled to the relief.

  • March 27, 2024

    Construction Orgs Call Prevailing Wage Rule Unconstitutional

    Several construction groups said the U.S. Department of Labor is illegally trying to expand the reach of the Davis-Bacon Act with its final rule regulating prevailing wages, urging a Texas federal court to bring the rule to a screeching halt.

  • March 27, 2024

    Rail Union Can't Strike Over Operations Spat, Judge Says

    A dispute between The Belt Railway Co. of Chicago and a rail workers union over operations changes must head to arbitration, an Illinois federal judge ruled, siding with the carrier's claims that a potential strike could cause it harm. 

  • March 27, 2024

    NLRB Seeks Contempt Order In Meat Co. Subpoena Fight

    National Labor Relations Board prosecutors asked a New York federal judge to hold two meatpacking companies in contempt of court for refusing to fully comply with a subpoena in a work transfer dispute, saying their stated reason for withholding certain documents is not valid.

  • March 27, 2024

    House Subpoenas PBGC Over $127M Teamsters Overpayment

    A House committee subpoenaed the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. as part of its probe into a $127 million overpayment to Teamsters pensioners who had already died, distributed as part of a multibillion-dollar bailout of multiemployer funds Congress approved during the pandemic.

  • March 27, 2024

    Cannabis Retailer Sues To Revive Union Decertification Bid

    A western Massachusetts cannabis retailer has asked a state court to reinstate an employee's petition to decertify a budding local of the United Food and Commercial Workers Union, which was dismissed by a state labor board following a settlement of separate prohibited practices complaints.

  • March 26, 2024

    Alcoa Retirees Score Partial Win In Life Insurance Fight

    Alcoa USA Corp. violated its collectively bargained obligations when it unilaterally cut off company-provided life insurance benefits, but was within its rights to pay retirees to waive their claims to benefits, an Indiana federal judge ruled.

  • March 26, 2024

    Examples Seen As Crucial To Useful EEOC, NLRB Guidance

    The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and National Labor Relations Board may be joining forces to clarify how protections for workers who get heated during union activity square with anti-discrimination law, and experts said specific examples on this interplay are at the top of their wish list.

  • March 26, 2024

    Turf Co. Secures Dismissal Of Funds' Contributions Row

    Benefits funds affiliated with the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades can't move ahead with their claims that a turf installer didn't pay contributions, a California federal judge ruled, saying the funds didn't include the calculation for payment in their allegations.

  • March 26, 2024

    Mercedes Fired 3 Union Backers In Ala., UAW Claims

    Mercedes-Benz has fired at least three workers for openly backing the United Auto Workers' organizing campaign at an Alabama plant, the union claimed Tuesday in a National Labor Relations Board charge.

  • March 26, 2024

    DC Circ. Rebukes NLRB's 'Nonsense' In Driver Camera Case

    The D.C. Circuit on Tuesday vacated a National Labor Relations Board decision that found a produce company unlawfully disciplined a pro-union worker and gave another the impression he was being surveilled, calling the board's approach to the case "nonsense."

  • March 26, 2024

    Hollywood Strip Club Violated Settlement, NLRB GC Says

    The National Labor Relations Board's Los Angeles office accused a North Hollywood strip club of breaching a settlement with the Actors' Equity Association, according to a copy of a complaint obtained by Law360 on Tuesday, with agency attorneys seeking payment for terminated workers and a reading notice.

  • March 26, 2024

    Teamsters Duck Yellow's $137M Suit Over Restructuring Talks

    The Teamsters have defeated Yellow Corp.'s $137 million lawsuit accusing them of pushing the trucking company into bankruptcy through intransigence in negotiations over a corporate restructuring, with a Kansas federal judge finding the company didn't exhaust the grievance process under a union contract before suing.

  • March 26, 2024

    Legal Aid Union Fights Subpoena Over Palestine Resolution

    The New York Civil Liberties Union on Monday backed the Association of Legal Aid Attorneys in its fight against a subpoena from the U.S. House Committee on Education and the Workforce following the union's adoption of a resolution in support of the Palestinian cause.

  • March 25, 2024

    NLRB Defends 10(j) Tests In Starbucks High Court Dispute

    The National Labor Relations Board told the U.S. Supreme Court that Starbucks is ignoring the history of how courts use injunction standards under federal labor law, explaining to the justices that a two-part test doesn't lead to more favorable outcomes for the agency.

  • March 25, 2024

    Chattanooga Volkswagen Workers To Vote On UAW In April

    Workers at a Volkswagen factory in Chattanooga, Tennessee, will take their third crack at voting on representation by the United Auto Workers next month, the National Labor Relations Board announced Monday, revealing that the election has been scheduled without company pushback.

Expert Analysis

  • Labor Law Reform Is Needed For Unions To Succeed

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    Though support for unions is at an unprecedented high, declining union membership levels expose the massive disconnect between what Americans want from unionizing and what they are actually able to achieve, primarily due to the disastrous state of U.S. labor law, say Sharon Block and Benjamin Sachs at Harvard Law School.

  • How Cos. Can Avoid Sinking In The Union Organizing Storm

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    Faced with a new NLRB administration and pandemic-fueled employee unrest, employers must deal with the perfect storm for union organizing by keeping policies up-to-date and making sure employees’ voices are heard, says Daniel Johns at Cozen O'Connor.

  • Eye On Compliance: Employee Biometric Data Privacy

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    Following recent high-profile developments in Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act lawsuits and an increase in related legislation proposed by other states, employers should anticipate an uptick in litigation on this issue — and several best practices can help bolster compliance, say Lisa Ackerman and Laura Stutz at Wilson Elser.

  • Examining Employer Best Practices For Reserved Gates

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    Joshua Fox at Proskauer discusses the legal implications of employers establishing a reserved gate system for union picketing — which creates a separate worksite entrance for employers not involved in the dispute — with a focus on rights and obligations under the National Labor Relations Act, and preventing disruptions toward secondary employers.

  • 6 Antitrust Compliance Tips For Employers From MLB Probe

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    Major League Baseball's recent investigation into possible collusion between the Mets and Yankees — involving then-free agent Aaron Judge — can teach employers of all types antitrust lessons in a time when competition for top talent is fierce, says Mohamed Barry at Fisher & Phillips.

  • Water Cooler Talk: Trade Secret Lessons From 'Severance'

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    In light of the recently enacted Protecting American Intellectual Property Act, attorneys at Troutman Pepper chat with Tangibly CEO Tim Londergan about trade secret protection as it relates to the show “Severance,” which involves employees whose minds are surgically divided between their home and work lives.

  • 4 Ways Nonunion Employers Can Make Workers Feel Heard

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    With employees less likely to join the recent surge of unionizations if management proactively responds to their concerns, companies should cultivate positive relationships with their workers now, lest employees feel they must organize to amplify their voices, say Stacey McClurkin Macklin and Grant Mulkey at Stinson.

  • Independent Contractor Laws Are Ignoring Economy's Evolution

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    Over the last year, federal and state approaches to independent contractor classification have demonstrated an inability to adjust to changes in the economy — save for a 12-factor test proposed in New York City, which would have balanced gig economy prosperity and worker protections, say attorneys at Greenberg Traurig.

  • Key Employer Questions On Ill. Workers' Rights Amendment

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    With the Illinois' Workers' Rights Amendment recently voted into the state constitution despite challenges in and out of court, employers struggling to understand if the ban on right-to-work statutes applies to the private sector should follow litigation on the amendment for help interpreting its scope and applicability, say attorneys at Neal Gerber.

  • What To Know About NLRB's Expanded Labor Remedies

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    The National Labor Relations Board’s recent Thryv decision, which added "foreseeable pecuniary harms" to employee remedies for unfair labor practices, should prompt employers to recalibrate risk assessments involved in making significant employment decisions, says Manolis Boulukos at Ice Miller.

  • Top 10 Employer Resolutions For 2023

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    A recent wave of pivotal judicial, legislative and executive actions has placed an even greater responsibility on employers to reevaluate existing protocols, examine fundamental aspects of culture and employee relations, and update policies and guidelines to ensure continued compliance with the law, say Allegra Lawrence-Hardy and Bria Stephens at Lawrence & Bundy.

  • NLRB Takes Antiquated Approach To Bargaining Unit Test

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    The National Labor Relations Board's recent decision in American Steel Construction rewrites history and tries to demonstrate that the interests of the employees included in a union's proposed petitioned-for unit are superior to the interests of the employees excluded, ignoring the reality of modern organizing, say Patrick Scully and Iris Lozano at Sherman & Howard.

  • Nonstatutory Labor Antitrust Exemption Risk In Sports Unions

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    Given the increased focus on union organizing across all industries, sports leagues and other multiemployer groups should be mindful of the unresolved breadth of the nonstatutory labor exemption — which can allow individuals to bring antitrust claims during the bargaining period — as they navigate a rapidly changing legal landscape, say attorneys at Latham.

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