A split Board concluded this week that a union did not engage in unlawful secondary activity under the NLRA when it stationed a 12-foot-tall inflatable rat—known all too well by employers as “Scabby the Rat”—and two 8-foot banners on the worksite of a neutral employer for the purpose of forcing
BREAKING: Jennifer Abruzzo is Sworn In as General Counsel of the NLRB
After being nominated by President Biden on February 17, 2021, Jennifer Abruzzo was sworn in as General Counsel of the NLRB yesterday by Chairman Lauren McFerran. Abruzzo will serve a four-year term as General Counsel, spearheading the agency’s investigation and prosecution of unfair labor practice cases and supervising the NLRB
District Court Approves of President Biden’s Firing of Former NLRB General Counsel, But is This the Final Word?
As we reported here and here, there are several challenges to the authority of the Acting General Counsel of the National Labor Relations Board, Peter Sung Ohr, given President Biden’s unprecedented move of terminating the sitting General Counsel, Peter Robb, in January 2021.
One recent challenge to the Acting
Guidance: Can Employers of Unionized Workers Require the COVID Vaccine?
The Coronavirus pandemic has spawned a lot of questions—and a lot of headaches—for employers, who within the past year have needed to adapt to rapidly changing health, regulatory, and technological landscapes. With the long-awaited arrival of a vaccine comes even more questions for employers: Can I require my employees to
Ninth Circuit Overturns Board Decision Finding Unlawful Secondary Picketing, Citing Insufficient Evidence of an Intent to Coerce a Neutral Employer
Last week, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit overturned a decision by the NLRB dismissing a complaint against two joint employers alleging unlawful termination in retaliation for picketing activity. The Court, reversing the Board, found that the employees’ picket was not unlawful secondary activity and therefore
Requiring Employees to Maintain the Confidentiality of Arbitration Proceedings Held to be Lawful Under the NLRA…For Now
In a recent decision by the NLRB, the Board upheld the lawfulness, in part, of an arbitration agreement that required employees to maintain the confidentiality of the arbitration proceedings, including the discovery process and the hearing. Dish Network, LLC, 370 NLRB No. 97 (March 18, 2021). However, Chairman
BREAKING: NLRB Withdraws Proposed Rule Concerning Employee-Status of Student Teachers and Research Assistants
After publishing the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking over a year ago, followed by tens of thousands of public comments and many months of anticipating the final rule, the NLRB announced today that it will publish a Notice of Withdrawal of the proposed student assistant rule. Under the proposed rule, students
Recent Labor Victories for Adjunct Professors Signal Likely Uptick in Contingent Faculty Organizing
Recently, adjunct professors at Elon University and Ithaca College won victories before the NLRB and an American Arbitration Association arbitrator, respectively, that further bolster the position that adjunct, or contingent, faculty members are “employees” as defined by the NLRA. Moreover, it also suggests that there will likely be a surge