As we recently discussed, the National Labor Relation Board’s (“NLRB”) monumental ruling in Cemex Construction Materials Pacific, LLC, 327 NLRB No. 130 (2023), is going to have a significant impact on the manner in which employers may respond to union organizing efforts. As the Board held in
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Another One: The NLRB Revives Standard That Employees Are Protected When Advocating for Nonemployees
By Joshua Fox & Austin McLeod on
A slew of decisions that were pending before the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB” or the “Board”) have been issued at the end of August, coming at the close of Member Wilcox’s term. In American Federation for Children, Inc., 372 NLRB No. 137, a 3-1 majority reversed recent…
Third Act: NLRB Reinstates Employee-Friendly Independent Contractor Analysis under the NLRA
By Steven Porzio, Joshua Fox & Alexander J. Blutman on
In a hotly-anticipated decision, The Atlanta Opera, Inc., 372 NLRB No. 95 (2023), the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB” or “Board”) overturned the existing legal standard for determining whether a worker is an employee or an independent contractor for purposes of the National Labor Relations Act (“NLRA”). Employees have…
UPDATE: NLRB Regional Director Issues Complaint Against USC, Pac-12, and the NCAA
By Adam Lupion, Joshua Fox, Ross Evans & Ryan McGill on
On May 18, 2023, Region 31 of the National Labor Relations Board (“Board”) issued an unfair labor-practice complaint against USC, the PAC-12, and the NCAA for allegedly misclassifying college athletes as non-employees and suppressing their Section 7 rights under the National Labor Relations Act (“Act”).
While significant, this development comes…
NLRB Flips (Again), Reinstates Context-Specific Standards For Employee Misconduct
By Mark Theodore, Joshua Fox & Ross Evans on
On Monday, the National Labor Relations Board (“Board”) issued a decision making it riskier and more complicated for employers to discipline employees for abusive workplace conduct alleged to have arisen within the context of protected activity under Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act (the “Act”). In Lion Elastomers…
UPDATE: Fifth Circuit Affirms NLRB Ruling In Tesla Case, Ordering Elon Musk to Delete Union-Related Tweet
By Joshua Fox & David Gobel on
On March 31, 2023, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit affirmed a National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) decision issued in 2021 (previously discussed here), which held that Tesla Inc. violated the National Labor Relations Act (“NLRA”) by (1) prohibiting employees from contacting the media in…
UPDATE: NLRB GC Abruzzo Makes Clear All Non-Disparagement and Confidentiality Clauses Are At Risk After NLRB’s McLaren Decision
Earlier this month, the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) issued its decision in McLaren Macomb, 372 NLRB No. 58 (2023), holding that not only are most non-disparagement and confidentiality clauses signed by employees covered by the National Labor Relations Act (“Act”) void as a matter of policy, but merely…
GC Update: Abruzzo Issues New Memorandum Outlining Her Objectives
By Joshua Fox & David Gobel on
On March 20, 2023, NLRB General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo released a new Memorandum, updating all Regional Directors, Officers-in-Charge and Resident Officers regarding which issues must be submitted to the NLRB Division of Advice—and which need not, because Advice and/or the NLRB addressed them in the last several years.
Specifically,…