Tag Archives: National Labor Relations Board

Third Circuit Tells the NLRB to Lighten Up and Take a Joke

By Todd Dawson and Michael Parente on May 24, 2022 Posted in NLRB

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit has found that Ben Domenech, executive officer and publisher of the right-leaning media company The Federalist, did not threaten employees when he tweeted that he would send them “back to the salt mine” if they unionized, in FDRLST Media LLC v. NLRB, Case No. 20-3434. Domenech’s … Continue Reading

Stacking the Deck: NLRB General Counsel Seeks Union-Friendly Labor Law Reform in Card Check Recognition Procedure

By Christian White and Carlos Torrejon on May 11, 2022 Posted in NLRB

In what can only be viewed as tilting the odds in favor of organized labor, National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo recently filed a brief with the five-member, Democratic-controlled Board in a case pending on appeal – Cemex Construction Materials Pacific, LLC – to request the reinstatement of the Joy Silk doctrine. … Continue Reading

The Times Are A-Changing for Employer Handbooks … Soon

By Christian White, Todd Dawson and Carlos Torrejon on March 14, 2022 Posted in NLRB

As we previously reported, the National Labor Relations Board (the Board) invited public comment in January on whether it should overrule its current standard for determining the lawfulness of employee handbook policies and work rules. That standard – which applies in both union and nonunion workplaces – was adopted by the Board during the Trump … Continue Reading

Staying the Course … for Now

By Todd Dawson and Christian White on March 3, 2022 Posted in NLRB

National Labor Relations Board Confirms Presumption that Single-Store Units Are Appropriate The National Labor Relations Board (Board) recently confirmed that single-store bargaining units are presumed to be appropriate. Starbucks Corp., 371 N.L.R.B. No. 71 (Feb. 23, 2022). The union involved in the case petitioned to represent a unit of Starbucks employees who worked at a … Continue Reading

Another One Bites the Dust? NLRB Request for Briefing on Independent Contractor Standard Suggests Another Trump-Era Decision Is About To Be Overruled

By Todd Dawson and Christian White on January 11, 2022 Posted in NLRA, NLRB

Weeks after inviting public briefing on a potential change in the standard for determining the appropriateness of proposed bargaining units (discussed here), the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has again invited briefing in a pending case involving the standard for determining whether workers are properly classified as independent contractors under the National Labor Relations Act. … Continue Reading

The First Domino to Fall? NLRB Solicits Public Input on Test for Determining Appropriate Bargaining Units

By Todd Dawson and Christian White on December 13, 2021 Posted in NLRB

In a somewhat ominous sign of things to come, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB or the Board) has invited briefing on whether to change the test for determining whether a union has proposed an appropriate employee voting group (i.e., a “voting unit”) in petitioning for an NLRB representation election. The current standard that applies … Continue Reading

Through the Looking Glass, Part 2: What Does ‘Protected Concerted Activity’ Look Like?

By Christian White and Todd Dawson on November 4, 2021 Posted in NLRA, NLRB, Wage and Hour

As explained in a prior post, the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) gives employees the right to engage in “protected concerted activity” when such activity is intended to improve their wages, benefits and working conditions. We also discussed NLRB General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo’s intention to expand what falls within the definition of “working conditions” in … Continue Reading

Hands Off My Tech: Employers May Not Restrict Employee Communications Transmitted via Third-Party Smartphone Applications

By Todd Dawson and Christian White on October 26, 2021 Posted in NLRB

The National Labor Relations Board’s (NLRB) Division of Advice (Advice), which provides guidance to the NRLB’s regional offices regarding difficult and novel issues, recently released an internal memo concerning employee online communications that should be cause for concern among employers. Specifically, Advice found that an employee engaged in protected activity by discussing COVID-19 safety concerns … Continue Reading

Through The Looking Glass: The NLRB Seeks To Expand The Concept Of ‘Protected Concerted Activity’ Beyond Its Imaginable Limits

By Christian White and Todd Dawson on October 14, 2021 Posted in NLRA, NLRB, Wage and Hour

Since the passage of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) in 1936, employees have possessed a right to engage in “protected concerted activity,” meaning they have the right to discuss workplace concerns and take action for mutual aid or protection. Indeed, the National Labor Relations Board’s (NLRB or the Board) website explicitly informs employees that … Continue Reading

‘Please Speak into My Lapel’: D.C. Circuit Finds That NLRB Properly Considered Secret Recording That Arguably Violated State Law

By Todd Dawson and Christian White on September 28, 2021 Posted in NLRB

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit recently held that the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB or Board) properly considered a secret recording of an employer meeting with employees in finding that the employer committed multiple unfair labor practices. The employer meeting followed a strike during which the striking employees loudly … Continue Reading

A Hard Rain About to Fall? House Committee Details Proposed Changes to Federal Labor Law

By Todd Dawson and Christian White on September 14, 2021 Posted in Biden Administration, NLRB

If you hear a clinking noise in the distance, that may be the sound of organized labor hoisting its mugs to toast the Democratic majority in Congress. The House of Representatives’ Committee on Education and Labor announced a number of proposed changes last week to the National Labor Relations Act, which House and Senate Democrats … Continue Reading

Not So Fast … the NLRB’s New General Motors Standard Isn’t a Rubber Stamp for Discipline in Cases Involving Offensive Speech

By Christian White on September 3, 2021 Posted in NLRB

On Aug. 25, 2021, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) issued a decision applying its new standard for cases where an employee is disciplined for using offensive speech in the course of engaging in protected labor activity. The board initially announced the new standard in its General Motors decision issued in July 2020. In summary, … Continue Reading

A Brave, New World? Recent NLRB Rulings Concerning Mail Ballot Elections May Be The Beginning Of A New Era In Board Elections

By Todd Dawson and Carlos Torrejon on August 16, 2021 Posted in NLRB

Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, unions and employers alike have had to adjust to a “new normal” of mail ballot NLRB elections. Under normal circumstances, the NLRB’s preferred and standard method for conducting elections is in person, usually at the employer’s facility and – depending on the size of the … Continue Reading