Labor

  • May 01, 2024

    NLRB Dings Amazon CEO Over 'Better Off Not' Unionizing Talk

    Amazon CEO Andy Jassy violated federal labor law by making public predictions that workers looking to unionize would be "better off not doing so," a National Labor Relations Board judge ruled Wednesday, but determined Jassy's comments that unionization would change workers' relationship with the company were lawful.

  • May 01, 2024

    5 Benefits Appellate Arguments To Watch In May

    The Second Circuit will be asked to revive a 401(k) mismanagement suit against Deloitte, the Sixth Circuit will consider whether to force arbitration of a 401(k) fee suit against two automotive companies, and the Seventh Circuit will review the U.S. Department of Labor's court-ordered takeover of a multiemployer benefit fund. Here, Law360 looks at five appellate arguments benefits attorneys will want to keep an eye on this month.

  • May 01, 2024

    Mich. Hospital Aided SEIU Ouster Bid, NLRB Attys Say

    National Labor Relations Board attorneys requested a federal court injunction to make a Michigan hospital bargain with a Service Employees International Union affiliate, alleging the hospital aided decertification efforts and withdrew recognition from the union.

  • May 01, 2024

    Worker's Back Pay Is Shell's Issue, New Refinery Owner Says

    An energy company that took over a Shell oil refinery isn't liable for back pay owed to a worker wrongly fired before the sale, the company told a Washington federal judge, saying it didn't absorb Shell's legal obligations.

  • May 01, 2024

    Pa. Court Upholds University Cop's Firing Over Racist Posts

    A Pennsylvania appeals court scrapped the reinstatement Wednesday of a Kutztown University police officer who was fired for sharing racist and offensive posts on his personal Facebook page, ruling that the arbitrator who gave him his job back improperly ignored anti-bias laws.

  • May 01, 2024

    Closed Hotel Co. Says Old NYC Severance Law Inapplicable

    The former operator of a shuttered Marriott hotel in Manhattan asked a New York federal judge to stop the city from using a now-ineffective severance law to force it to pay $6 million to a hotel workers union, saying it satisfied its closure-related obligations through a previous $12 million payment.

  • May 01, 2024

    NLRB Judge Seeks Cause In Starbucks, Union Postpone Bid

    A National Labor Relations Board judge asked agency prosecutors Wednesday to show cause related to a request from Starbucks and Workers United to postpone hearing dates this month over refusal to bargain claims, while the parties mention ongoing talks to settle board litigation.

  • May 01, 2024

    Amazon Says Worker Info Requests Threaten Its Legal Rights

    Amazon asked a New York federal judge to reject requests for information about its Staten Island facility workers in a dispute over leadership of the Amazon Labor Union, calling them "an improper collateral attack" on its ability to contest the results of the union's election win.

  • May 01, 2024

    UAW Local Calls Arrests Of Members At USC Protest Illegal

    The University of Southern California violated federal labor law by having union members who protested in support of a ceasefire in Gaza arrested, a United Auto Workers affiliate representing graduate student workers said.

  • May 01, 2024

    Acting Labor Sec. Defends Status, Rules At Tense Hearing

    Acting Labor Secretary Julie Su defended her U.S. Department of Labor role and recent agency rules at a U.S. House committee hearing on Wednesday from Republicans who accused her of serving through a "loophole" and who questioned the legality of actions under her leadership.

  • May 01, 2024

    NLRB Says Beverage Co. Wrongly Put Union Leader On Leave

    A Puerto Rico beverage distributor violated federal labor law by placing an employee union leader on six months of unpaid leave and prematurely declaring an impasse in bargaining, the National Labor Relations Board ruled, upholding an August decision from an agency judge.

  • April 30, 2024

    NJ AG Asks Court To Nix UAW's Suit Over Smoking In Casinos

    The New Jersey attorney general has requested that a state court dismiss a United Auto Workers complaint claiming a law excluding casino workers from a smoking ban at certain indoor workspaces violates the state constitution, saying the dispute should be left to the Legislature.

  • April 30, 2024

    UAW, Fiat Chrysler Settle Anti-Gay Discrimination Suit

    Fiat Chrysler and a United Auto Workers local have agreed to resolve a former worker's lawsuit alleging she was fired for complaining about anti-gay harassment she faced and her union didn't adequately pursue her grievance, according to a filing in Michigan federal court.

  • April 30, 2024

    Welch's Says Worker Should Stay Fired In Dispute With Union

    Welch Foods Inc. on Tuesday said a Pennsylvania magistrate judge is wrong to say the company should be forced to rehire a Teamsters-represented worker it fired for making vulgar comments to a female co-worker, saying the words the ex-employee used should be construed as sexual harassment.

  • April 30, 2024

    Google's Challenge To YouTube Music Union Stays In DC Circ.

    The D.C. Circuit will continue adjudicating Google's challenge to the unionization of its subsidiary YouTube Music, rejecting on Tuesday a request by the company and its contractor Cognizant to transfer the case to the Fifth Circuit.

  • April 30, 2024

    SEIU Cites Starbucks Organizing In Push For Cemex Standard

    The Service Employees International Union invoked the nationwide organizing campaign at Starbucks stores in a request for the Ninth Circuit to back a National Labor Relations Board precedent shift for bargaining orders, arguing the new standard will help deter labor law violations.

  • April 30, 2024

    ExxonMobil Tells 5th Circ. Ex-NLRB Member Wasn't Biased

    ExxonMobil asked the Fifth Circuit to overturn a National Labor Relations Board decision finding the oil giant unlawfully refused to bargain with a union, saying the NLRB erred by vacating the company's 2020 win in the case after uncovering a Trump-era board member's financial ties to ExxonMobil.

  • April 29, 2024

    Ex-Officers Seek Early Win Against Flight Attendant Union

    Former officers of the Association of Professional Flight Attendants urged a Texas federal judge to toss claims from the union that they violated their fiduciary duty, accusing the union of raising allegations to further "its political agenda against plaintiffs."

  • April 29, 2024

    Biz Groups Fight Conn. Ban On 'Captive Audience' Meetings

    A Connecticut law that lets workers skip employers' meetings to discuss unionization violates employers' right to free speech, a coalition of business groups argued in Connecticut federal court, seeking a pretrial win on allegations that the law violates the U.S. Constitution and federal labor law.

  • April 29, 2024

    Amtrak Wants Out Of Black Conductor's Bias Suit

    Amtrak is urging a Connecticut federal judge to let it out of a Black conductor's lawsuit alleging she was passed over for union committee assignments in favor of less experienced white men and harassed by a superior after she complained, saying her gripes should be directed solely at the union.

  • April 29, 2024

    DOL Issues Guidance On Using AI In The Workplace

    The U.S. Department of Labor issued guidance Monday on how employers can carefully use artificial intelligence, saying a lack of human eyes could create a domino effect and lead to violations of federal wage and leave laws.

  • April 29, 2024

    Judge Rejects Class Certification Of Seizure Drug Customers

    An Illinois federal judge has rejected a class certification bid in a suit against drugmaker Mallinckrodt and prescription delivery platform Express Scripts, ruling that the plaintiffs were unable to meet their predominance burden as a class.

  • April 29, 2024

    Calif. Cannabis Labor Law Violates US Constitution, Co. Says

    A California cannabis law's provisions mandating labor peace agreements between dispensaries and unions violate the U.S. Constitution, a cannabis retailer has alleged, saying the statute unlawfully gives the labor organization more leverage when negotiating what requirements are in the accords.

  • April 29, 2024

    Union Didn't Betray Employee Slapped At Work, NLRB Says

    A union steward acted in good faith when suggesting that if a transportation company fired an employee who slapped her co-worker, it should also fire the co-worker for provoking her, a split National Labor Relations Board found, saying the suggestion wasn't a betrayal but a strategy to discourage firings.

  • April 26, 2024

    Law360 Reveals Titans Of The Plaintiffs Bar

    In the past year, plaintiffs have won settlements and judgments for millions and billions of dollars from companies such as Wells Fargo, Goldman Sachs, Facebook and Fox News, with many high-profile cases finally wrapping up after years of fighting. Such cases — involving over-the-top compensation packages, chemical contamination, gender discrimination and data mining — were led by attorneys whose accomplishments earned them recognition as Law360's Titans of the Plaintiffs Bar for 2024.

Expert Analysis

  • 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.

  • Spartan Arbitration Tactics Against Well-Funded Opponents

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    Like the ancient Spartans who held off a numerically superior Persian army at the Battle of Thermopylae, trial attorneys and clients faced with arbitration against an opponent with a bigger war chest can take a strategic approach to create a pass to victory, say Kostas Katsiris and Benjamin Argyle at Venable.

  • What The NIL Negotiation Rules Injunction Means For NCAA

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    A Tennessee federal court's recent preliminary injunction reverses several prominent and well-established NCAA rules on negotiations with student-athletes over name, image and likeness compensation and shows that collegiate athletics is a profoundly unsettled legal environment, say attorneys at Pillsbury.

  • Takeaways From NLRB Advice On 'Outside' Employment

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    Rebecca Leaf at Miles & Stockbridge examines a recent memo from the National Labor Relations Board’s Division of Advice that said it’s unlawful for employers to restrict secondary or outside employment, and explains what companies should know about the use of certain restrictive covenants going forward.

  • Shaping Speech Policies After NLRB's BLM Protest Ruling

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    After the National Labor Relations Board decided last month that a Home Depot employee was protected by federal labor law when they wore a Black Lives Matter slogan on their apron, employers should consider four questions in order to mitigate legal risks associated with workplace political speech policies, say Louis Cannon and Cassandra Horton at Baker Donelson.

  • 2026 World Cup: Companies Face Labor Challenges And More

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    Companies sponsoring or otherwise involved with the 2026 FIFA World Cup — hosted jointly by the U.S., Canada and Mexico — should be proactive in preparing to navigate many legal considerations in immigration, labor management and multijurisdictional workforces surrounding the event, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • Eye On Compliance: Workplace March Madness Pools

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    With March Madness set to begin in a few weeks, employers should recognize that workplace sports betting is technically illegal, keeping federal and state gambling laws in mind when determining whether they will permit ever-popular bracket pools, says Laura Stutz at Wilson Elser.

  • There Is No NCAA Supremacy Clause, Especially For NIL

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    A recent Tennessee federal court ruling illustrates the NCAA's problematic position that its member schools should violate state law rather than its rules — and the organization's legal history with the dormant commerce clause raises a fundamental constitutional issue that will have to be resolved before attorneys can navigate NIL with confidence, says Patrick O’Donnell at HWG.