Tag Archives: National Labor Relations Board

NLRB Gifts Employees Expansive Remedies in Time for the Holiday Season

Photo of Pat MuldowneyPhoto of Nailah BowenBy Pat Muldowney and Nailah Bowen on Posted in NLRB
“You get more remedies! You get more remedies! Everybody gets more remedies!” Employers found to have committed an unfair labor practice (ULP) now may be required to compensate employees for interest and late fees on credit cards, penalties for early withdrawals from retirement accounts, out-of-pocket medical expenses, and other costs incurred to make ends meet. … Continue Reading

Employers Beware: NLRB Remedies Likely to Be More Expansive Moving Forward

Photo of Christian WhitePhoto of Carlos TorrejonPhoto of Todd DawsonBy Christian White, Carlos Torrejon and Todd Dawson on Posted in NLRB
For the first time in over three decades, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB or Board) has ordered an employer to reimburse employees for wages they lost while attending negotiation sessions on behalf of the union. Nexstar Broadcasting, Inc. d/b/a KOIN-TV, 371 NLRB No. 118 (2022). The Board found that the employer involved in the … Continue Reading

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

Photo of Christian WhitePhoto of Carlos TorrejonBy Christian White and Carlos Torrejon on 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

Photo of Christian WhitePhoto of Todd DawsonPhoto of Carlos TorrejonBy Christian White, Todd Dawson and Carlos Torrejon on 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

Photo of Todd DawsonPhoto of Christian WhiteBy Todd Dawson and Christian White on 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

Photo of Todd DawsonPhoto of Christian WhiteBy Todd Dawson and Christian White on 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

Photo of Todd DawsonPhoto of Christian WhiteBy Todd Dawson and Christian White on 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?

Photo of Christian WhitePhoto of Todd DawsonBy Christian White and Todd Dawson on 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

Photo of Todd DawsonPhoto of Christian WhiteBy Todd Dawson and Christian White on 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

Photo of Christian WhitePhoto of Todd DawsonBy Christian White and Todd Dawson on 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

Photo of Todd DawsonPhoto of Christian WhiteBy Todd Dawson and Christian White on 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

Photo of Todd DawsonPhoto of Christian WhiteBy Todd Dawson and Christian White on 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

Photo of Christian WhiteBy Christian White on 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

Photo of Todd DawsonPhoto of Carlos TorrejonBy Todd Dawson and Carlos Torrejon on 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
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