Category Archives: COVID-19

No Reasonable Expectation of Recall? No Election: Board Cancels Union Election at Casino Closed During COVID-19

The National Labor Relations Board recently cancelled a union election at a Las Vegas casino that suspended its operations and laid off employees amid the COVID-19 pandemic. In NP Texas LLC d/b/a Texas Station Gambling Hall and Hotel and Local Joint Executive Board of Las Vegas, 370 NLRB No. 11 (2020), the Board found that … Continue Reading

NLRB Division of Advice Dishes Some Guidance With Respect to COVID-Related ULP Charges

By Mark Theodore, Joshua Fox and Abigail Rosenblum on August 18, 2020 Posted in Advice, Coronavirus, COVID-19, NLRB, Uncategorized

The pandemic has thrown a number of obstacles at employers and employees as everyone attempts to navigate a novel situation. On August 13, 2020, the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) Division of Advice (“Advice”), the agency’s internal think-tank, published five Advice Memoranda dismissing unfair labor practice charges against employers in connection with issues concerning the … Continue Reading

Update: NLRB Extends Suspension of Notice-Posting Requirements to Cases Involving Informal Settlement Agreements

By Peter D. Conrad, Joshua Fox and Alex Downie on May 21, 2020 Posted in COVID-19, NLRA, NLRB

As we discussed here, the National Labor Relations Board decided early this month that it would temporarily suspend the remedial notice-posting and emailing requirement at facilities shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic until after reopening and a return of a “substantial complement” of employees. See Danbury Ambulance Service, Inc., 369 NLRB 68 (2020). The … Continue Reading

BREAKING: NLRB to Resume Unfair Labor Practice Trials June 1, 2020

By Mark Theodore, Joshua Fox and Alex Downie on May 19, 2020 Posted in COVID-19, NLRA, NLRB

As many states throughout the country have begun implementing phased reopening plans, so too has the NLRB begun to return to a semblance of normality. Representation elections resumed in early April, and the NLRB recently provided clarification as to how representation hearings should be conducted. In the last few weeks the agency has counted ballots … Continue Reading

NLRB: Changes in Workplace Policies Not Applicable to Union Employees do not Constitute a Unilateral Action by the Employer

By Mark Theodore and Elizabeth Dailey on April 30, 2020 Posted in COVID-19, NLRB

As the NLRB continues to navigate the uncertainty in the work landscape during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, it seems to have stayed largely on course, regularly issuing decisions touching on a number of important topics under the Act. One such important topic that the Board has devoted recent attention to has been the issue of … Continue Reading

Update: NLRB Delays Implementation of Final Election Rule Changes to July 31, 2020

By Mark Theodore and Joshua Fox on April 8, 2020 Posted in COVID-19, NLRA, NLRB

As we reported here, on April 1, 2020, the NLRB published its final rule making three amendments to its rules and regulations governing union elections (relating to the Board’s blocking charge policy; timing and notice requirements attendant to voluntary recognition; and 9(a) recognition in the construction industry). The rule was expected to be effective as … Continue Reading

CARES ACT Relief for Mid-Size Businesses Comes with Important Union Related Conditions

By Joseph Baumgarten, Michael Lebowich, Joshua Fox and Dominique Kilmartin on April 1, 2020 Posted in COVID-19, NLRA, NLRB Election Rules

Mid-sized businesses (defined as 500 to 10,000 employees) impacted by the Coronavirus may be able to obtain relief loans under the COVID-19 stimulus law, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (“CARES Act”), but only if non-union employers agree not to oppose the unionization of their workforce for the term of the loan, and … Continue Reading

NLRB General Counsel Issues Guidance on the Duty to Bargain During Emergencies

By Peter D. Conrad, Joshua Fox and Scott Tan on March 31, 2020 Posted in Advice, Collective Bargaining, COVID-19, General Counsel, Healthcare Employers, NLRA, NLRB, Section 8(a)(3), Section 8(a)(5), Unfair Labor Practices

On March 27, 2020, NLRB General Counsel Peter Robb issued Memorandum GC-20-04 to provide guidance to NLRB regional offices and the general public. Acknowledging that “we are [currently] in an unprecedented situation,” the General Counsel provided summaries of several NLRB decisions discussing how, if at all, an employer’s duty to bargain under NLRA Section 8(d) … Continue Reading