On January 27, 2025, President Trump fired National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB” or “Board”) Member Gwynne A. Wilcox, marking the first time that a president has ever attempted to remove a Board member prior to the end of their five-year term. The move – if it withstands court scrutiny –
Third Circuit Brews a Limit on NLRB’s Remedial Authority
On December 27, 2024, the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit (“the Third Circuit” or “the court”) vacated a portion of an NLRB (“the Board”) order requiring Starbucks to compensate two allegedly wrongfully terminated employees for “all direct or foreseeable pecuniary harms” resulting from Starbucks’ alleged unfair…
Supreme Court Remands NLRB Successor Bar Case, Signaling Potential Changes to Board Deference Doctrine
On December 16, 2024, the U.S. Supreme Court vacated a D.C. Circuit opinion in Hosp. Menonita de Guayama, Inc. v. Nat’l Lab. Rels. Bd., 94 F.4th 1 (D.C. Cir. 2024) that upheld a decision by the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB” or “Board”) on the successor-bar doctrine, which precludes…
Federal District Court in D.C. Strikes Down Removal Protections for ALJs
The continued legal challenges to the constitutionality of certain aspects of the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) and National Labor Relations Act (“NLRA”) took a potentially significant turn in a decision issued by the District Court for the District of Columbia on December 10, 2024.
NLRB Returns to Exacting “Clear and Unmistakable” Waiver Standard for Contractual Waiver of Right to Bargain Over Unilateral Changes
This week, in an expected decision, the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB” or “Board”) reinstated its prior “clear and unmistakable” waiver standard—a standard that has been much criticized by the courts—for determining when an employer’s unilateral change to terms and conditions of employment violates the National Labor Relations Act (“NLRA”…
BREAKING: SENATE FAILS TO MOVE FORWARD WITH NLRB NOMINEES
On December 11, 2024, the U.S. Senate voted 49-50 against invoking cloture on President Biden’s nomination of Lauren McFerran (Democrat appointee) for the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB” or “Board”). As reported here, President Biden also nominated Seyfarth Shaw partner, Joshua Ditelberg (Republican appointee), when he nominated McFerran in…
Consent Orders Are Gone But Board Consent Remains…For Now
On November 26, 2024, the National Labor Relations Board’s (“NLRB” or the “Board”) General Counsel, Jennifer Abruzzo, released GC Memorandum 25-02 to all Regional Directors, Officers-in-Charge, and Resident Officers, seeking to ensure that settlement agreements based on unfair labor practice allegations adequately address the public rights implicated by potential violations…