Labor

Expert Analysis

• The Issues Brewing Around Starbucks Labor Practice Cases

  

  Starbucks is faced with fighting off another push for a nationwide injunction against firing any employees that support unionization, and there's a distinct possibility that the company and the National Labor Relations Board could be fighting the same fight over and over in various locations, says Janette Levey at Levey Law.

• Employer Tips For Fighting Back Against Explosive Verdicts

  

  Massive jury verdicts are a product of our time, driven in part by reptile tactics, but employers can build a strategic defense to mitigate the risk of a runaway jury, and develop tools to seek judicial relief in the event of an adverse outcome, say Dawn Solowey and Lynn Kappelman at Seyfarth.

• Handbook Hot Topics: Changing Status Quo In A Union Shop

  

  A recent administrative law decision concerning a dispute between Fortune Media and the NewsGuild of New York is an important reminder to employers with unionized workforces to refrain from making unilateral updates to employee handbooks that will change the terms and conditions of employment, says Jennifer Hataway at Butler Snow.

• Eye On Compliance: A Shift In Religious Accommodation Law

  

  The recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Groff v. DeJoy is making it more difficult for employers to deny religious accommodations, and there are three takeaways employers should keep in mind, say William Cook and Matthew High at Wilson Elser.

• Conflicting NLRB Stances Create Employer Compliance Plight

  

  Contradictory positions set forth by the National Labor Relations Board’s general counsel — asserted in a recent unfair labor practice judgment against CVS and a pending case against Starbucks — place employers in a no-win dilemma when deciding whether they can provide wage and benefit improvements to both union and nonunion employees, says Alice Stock at Bond Schoeneck.

• Biden Admin Must Take Action On Worker Surveillance

  

  As companies increasingly use electronic surveillance to monitor employees, speed up work and quash organizing efforts, the Biden administration should use its well-established regulatory authority to study the problem and protect worker safety, say Matt Scherer at the Center for Democracy and Technology, and Reed Shaw at Governing for Impact.

• Novel NLRB Action Highlights Aggressive Noncompete Stance

  

  While a first-of-its-kind noncompete complaint filed by the National Labor Relations Board general counsel against a Michigan cannabis processor recently resulted in a private settlement, the action shows how broadly the general counsel views her authority over such covenants and how vigorously she intends to exercise it, say Erik Weibust and Erin Schaefer at Epstein Becker.

• New NLRB Bench Book Is An Important Read For Practitioners

  

  Though the National Labor Relations Board's Bench Book is aimed at administrative law judges who adjudicate unfair labor practice hearings, key updates in its 2023 edition offer crucial reading for anyone who handles charges before the agency, say David Pryzbylski and Thomas Payne at Barnes & Thornburg.

• Eye On Compliance: An NLRB Primer For Private Employers

  

  Many employers, especially those with nonunionized workforces, may not realize they are subject to federal labor law, but with a recent flurry of precedent-changing rulings from the National Labor Relations, understanding how to comply with the National Labor Relations Act may now be more important than ever, says Bruno Katz at Wilson Elser.

• NBA Players Must Avoid Legal Fouls In CBD Deals

  

  The NBA’s recently ratified collective bargaining agreement allows athletes to promote CBD brands and products, but athletes and the companies they promote must be cautious of a complex patchwork of applicable state laws and federal regulators’ approach to advertising claims, says Airina Rodrigues at Brownstein Hyatt.

• Labor Law Lessons From NLRB Judge's Bargaining Order

  

  A National Labor Relations Board judge’s recent decision to issue a so-called Gissel bargaining order against IBN Construction is a reminder that a company’s unfair labor practices may not just result in traditional remedies, but could also lead to union certification, says Andrew MacDonald at Fox Rothschild.

• PGA, LIV Tie-Up Might Foreshadow Future Of Women's Soccer

  

  The pending merger between PGA Tour and LIV Golf is entirely consistent with the history of American professional sports leagues that faced upstart competitors, and is a warning about the forthcoming competition between the National Women's Soccer League and the USL Super League, says Christopher Deubert at Constangy Brooks.

• NLRB's Stricter Contractor Test May Bring Organizing Risks

  

  The National Labor Relations Board’s recent Atlanta Opera decision adds another layer of complexity to the legal tests for determining whether a worker is an independent contractor or an employee, and could create new risks of union organizing and unfair labor practice charges for companies, say Robert Lian and James Crowley at Akin.