On the eve of the last day of Member Ring’s term, and in the third in a string of significant rulings by the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB” or “Board”) (which we reported on here and here)—with potentially more to come—the Board, in Sunbelt Rentals, Inc., 372 NLRB
NLRB GC Issues Guidance Memo Laying Out Changes to Evidence Collection in Unfair Labor Practice Investigations
NLRB General Counsel Peter Robb issued a Memorandum on June 17th setting forth new guidelines for how Regions conduct unfair labor practice investigations—specifically, how Regions secure the testimony of former supervisors and agents, as well as how to handle audio recordings. The stated goal of the Memo is to
Busy Board Returns to Rule Permitting Workplace Confidentiality Restrictions during an Employer’s Investigation
As anticipated, in one of the last decisions before the end of Member McFerran’s term, the NLRB issued another important opinion. Reverting back to precedent that preceded a 2015 decision, the Board, in Apogee Retail LLC d/b/a Unique Thrift Store, 368 NLRB No. 144 (2019), held that an
Thorough Employer Investigation Helps Establish Employer’s “Honest Belief” of Employees’ Picket Line Misconduct
The Board is now operating at a full complement and is issuing decisions on a fairly regular basis. Nothing earth shattering in terms of law (which is kind of a relief) but there are some interesting issues worth discussing. A frequent topic of discussion here is the often blurry line
The Devil Is In the Details: New Board Members Likely To Change Law In Nuanced Ways
The end of September in most years sees a spate of new NLRB decisions, sometimes dozens, issued on or about September 30, to coincide with the end of the agency’s fiscal year. Not so this past September 30 because of the recent changeover from a majority of Democrat Board Members
Circuit Court Rejects Attack On NLRB’s New Witness Rule
During the last several years, the NLRB has overturned a great deal of existing precedent. Among other changes, the Board has required bargaining over discipline in newly organized units, found graduate students to be employees entitled to organize, and found that two employers may have to bargain together. The
Union Represented Employee Not Entitled To Co-Worker Witness During Investigatory Interview, NLRB Rules
The last few months at the NLRB have been relatively quiet, save of course for the ambush election rules which went into effect on April 15; the true impact of these rules has yet to be revealed. Many of the recent Board cases involve correcting decisions that were invalidated by
Search Of Company Vehicle Not Employee Interview Triggering Weingarten Rights, NLRB Division of Advice
The scope of a union-represented employee’s right to have a union representative present during an investigatory interview is one of the more interesting areas of labor law. Even though most people who practice labor relations know the basics of the so-called Weingarten rights, the same types of questions continue to