The National Labor Relations Board recently scaled back the 2015 “quickie” election rule, which had sped up the timelines for conducting union elections. Speeding up the process provided an advantage to unions by setting short deadlines that often ambushed employers, leaving them with limited time to react to the election petition. The new rule offers
NLRB may revisit the limits of profane employee speech protected by federal labor law
While it may come as a surprise, the NLRB has long held that employees are sometimes entitled to use profane language while engaging in labor activities. In recent years, the Board has found that employee speech was protected where:
- An employee posted online that his supervisor was a “NASTY MOTHER F**KER don’t know how to
NLRB Rejects Clause Mandating Arbitration of All Disputes
The National Labor Relations Board recently invalidated an arbitration agreement that would require employees to arbitrate all “all claims or controversies” with their employer, holding that such a provision would unlawfully restrict employees’ access to the Board to adjudicate labor disputes.
The Board’s decision in Prime Healthcare could reverberate widely because the language it declared
Scabby the Rat memo signals possible change to NLRB precedent on secondary activity
Federal labor law protects neutral (secondary) employers from becoming entangled in labor disputes between another (primary) employer and unions. For most of the past decade, however, the NLRB has allowed unions to set up various displays – including an inflatable rat (otherwise known as “Scabby”) and an inflatable “fat cat” – near neutral employers’ premises
Uber Drivers are Contractors, Not Employees, According to NLRB’s Chief Lawyer
Since the emergence of the “gig economy” in the last decade, courts and government agencies have grappled with the question of whether gig workers should be classified as employees or contractors. The answer to that question has enormous consequences for employee coverage under various federal and state employment laws, ranging from anti-discrimination statutes like Title
Breathe, Stretch, … Strike?
Can employees engage in a concerted stretching exercise during work hours? The NLRB recently said yes.
The NLRA allows employees to engage in demonstrations to support their union, including demonstrations in support of contract proposals. However, the law does not protect employees from engaging in work slowdowns or other refusals to perform work. Strikes
NLRB General Counsel Memo Provides Guidance On The Status Of Employer Rules
In December 2017, the NLRB issued a decision in Boeing Corp., which altered the Board’s test concerning the validity of workplace rules. To further clarify the decision and current state of the law, the NLRB’s General Counsel issued a Memo (GC Memo 18-04) concerning the impact of the decision. GC Memo 18-04
“Whore Board” Is Protected Employee Speech, NLRB Finds.
In a recent decision, a Board panel majority found that an employee was unlawfully fired for writing “whore board” on an overtime sign-up sheet at work. This decision highlights the expansive nature of employee activity protected by the NLRA and the limited value that the NLRB can sometimes place on employer property rights.
In
NLRB is likely to operate with just four members for the time being.
A fully constituted NLRB is comprised of five members. Decisions are typically issued by three-member NLRB panels. Three is also the minimum number of members the NLRB must have to issue a decision. However, the NLRB will only overrule existing precedent where it has at least three members ruling in favor of a change. By
The Hy-Brand Saga Ends, But The NLRB’s Joint Employer Journey Continues
On June 6, 2018, the NLRB issued two Orders that put an end to the Hy-Brand case, which briefly changed the NLRB’s standard for determining whether two employers were jointly responsible for violations of federal labor law and collective bargaining. As we explained in previous posts (links), in December 2017 the Hy-Brand Board