Labor Relations Update

Category Archives: NLRA

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NLRB: Employer’s Reasons For Policy Changes Kept Union’s Information Request Alive Even After Proposals Withdrawn

By Mark Theodore on Posted in Collective Bargaining, Duty to furnish information, Duty to provide information, Employer policies, NLRA, NLRB, Section 8(a)(5), Uncategorized, Unfair Labor Practices
Information requests in the realm of labor relations are simple in theory but can be complicated in practice.  We have seen how the topics of information sought by a union can cause skirmishes, sometimes deliberately so.  We also have seen that it almost never is a good idea for a party to just deny a request for relevant information … Continue Reading

D.C. Circuit Weighs In On NLRB Test For Adjunct Faculty Unionization

By Paul Salvatore, Steven Porzio, David Bayer and Laura Franks on Posted in NLRA, Section 7
Colleges and universities should take note of the Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit’s recent decision in University of Southern California v. National Labor Relations Board, Case No. 17-1149 (D.C. Cir. Mar. 12, 2019) addressing whether non-tenure track faculty at universities are “employees” under the National Labor Relations Act (“NLRA”), giving them the right … Continue Reading

NLRB Rules Employer’s Handbook Statement That Benefit Available To “Non-Union Employees” Violates Act

By Mark Theodore on Posted in Employer policies, General Counsel, Handbook, NLRA, NLRB, Protected activity, Section 8(a)(1), Uncategorized
During the last decade, a number of NLRB decisions faulted employers for written policies that were considered to be overbroad in violation of the National Labor Relations Act.  These rulings sprang largely from the NLRB’s decision in Lutheran Heritage Village-Livonia, 343 NLRB 646 (2004), where the Board set forth a standard for evaluating the lawfulness of employer policies that … Continue Reading

NLRB Majority: Employer Not Required To Disclose Identity Of Bargaining Unit Informant

By Mark Theodore on Posted in Collective Bargaining, Duty to furnish information, Duty to provide information, General Counsel, NLRA, NLRB, Section 8(a)(1), Section 8(a)(5), Uncategorized
An employer’s duty to provide information to the union representing its employees is a frequent of topic of interest to labor relations practitioners because it is very easy to violate the law.  For example, an employer’s assertion that the information is confidential is not enough to justify failing to turn over the information.  And, for a brief period of time … Continue Reading

Unanimous NLRB: Context Matters – Asking Employee Whether He Saw Union Organizer Not Unlawful Interrogation

By Mark Theodore on Posted in General Counsel, NLRA, NLRB, Section 8(a)(1), Uncategorized
How the NLRB treats employer statements made to employees in the context of union organizing or other protected activity has been a frequent topic of discussion.  While the actual case law analyzing the coerciveness of an employer statement has not changed, the lawfulness of the statement often depends on the make-up of the Board at the … Continue Reading

Are Charter Schools Covered by the National Labor Relations Act? NLRB to Reconsider Its Jurisdiction over Charter Schools

By Mark Theodore, Joshua Fox and Austin McLeod on Posted in Bargaining units, Decertification elections, NLRA, NLRB, Section 7
On February 4, the NLRB granted United Federation of Teachers, Local 2, AFT, AFL-CIO’s (the “Union”) request for review of the Regional Director’s Decision and Direction of Election concerning a decertification petition filed by several teachers at a charter school.  In so doing, the Board invited filing of briefs regarding whether the Board should decline … Continue Reading

Employee’s Complaint About Low Tippers Not Protected Concerted Activity, NLRB Majority Rules

By Mark Theodore on Posted in NLRA, NLRB, Protected activity, Section 7, Uncategorized, Unfair Labor Practices
The right of employees to band together for purposes of bringing grievances to their employer is at the very core of the National Labor Relations Act, as embodied in Section 7. This right is called protected concerted activity.  In order to determine whether an employee is, in fact, engaged in protected concerted activity, it is necessary to … Continue Reading

Another Obama-Board Decision Overturned: NLRB Reverts to Traditional Common-Law Agency Independent-Contractor Test and Foreshadows Potential Rulemaking

By Joshua Fox, Meika Freeman and Michael Lebowich on Posted in Collective Bargaining, NLRA, NLRB, Rulemaking, Section 7
On January 25, 2019, in a long-anticipated decision, the NLRB overturned another Obama-Board decision, FedEx Home Delivery, 361 NLRB 610 (2014), which modified the test for whether an individual is an “employee” or an independent contractor under the NLRA (read about that decision here).  The Board, in a 3-1 decision (Chairman Ring and Members Kaplan … Continue Reading

New Joint-Employer Standard Properly Developed But Improperly Applied, Rules Federal Appeals Court

By Mark Theodore on Posted in Bargaining units, Collective Bargaining, NLRA, NLRB, Representation Elections, Uncategorized
There have been many precedent changing decisions coming from the NLRB in the last few years.  Few of these changes were more hotly contested, or farther reaching, than the Board’s decision in Browning-Ferris where it altered its longstanding joint employer test.  The new joint-employer test made it much more likely for a joint-employer relationship to be found to exist.  The decision … Continue Reading

NLRB Majority: Unqualified Notice to Picket Jobsite Where Neutrals Are Present Violates Act

By Mark Theodore on Posted in General Counsel, NLRA, NLRB, Uncategorized, Unfair Labor Practices
We recently saw interesting decisions from the NLRB including cases about the employer’s duty to provide information about tax cuts, the lawfulness of litigation holds, and the validity of decertification petitions. At the end of December, a divided NLRB took on a case involving a union’s threat to picket a work location where multiple employers are present. In IBEW Local 357 (Convention Technical … Continue Reading

Decertification Petition Was Improperly Dismissed, NLRB Rules

By Mark Theodore on Posted in Decertification elections, NLRA, NLRB, Protected activity, Representation Elections, Section 8(a)(1), Section 8(a)(5), Uncategorized, Unfair Labor Practices
Recently, we explored how the NLRB’s rules for determining the timeliness of a representation can be confusing.  Another area of complexity comes from whether a decertification petition will be processed in the face of unfair labor practice charges filed by the incumbent union.  This implicates the Board’s “blocking policy,” which is a set of guidelines designed to address … Continue Reading

Employer’s Litigation Hold Not Unlawful, NLRB Division of Advice Concludes

By Mark Theodore on Posted in Employer policies, Handbook, NLRA, NLRB, Section 7, Section 8(a)(1), Uncategorized
Last year about this time, the NLRB changed the standard for reviewing handbook rules.  The new standard takes into consideration the fact  there are many other interests other than the NLRA at play in a workplace, and seems to have quieted the frenzied scrutiny of employer policies. Over the years, the heightened scrutiny of employer policies has resulted in … Continue Reading

Union Not Entitled to Information About How Employer Spends Money From Tax Cut, NLRB General Counsel Rules

By Mark Theodore on Posted in Advice, Duty to furnish information, NLRA, NLRB, Section 8(a)(5), Uncategorized
In prior posts, we have discussed how information requests made in the context of a bargaining relationship can be vexing.  The standard of the employer’s obligation to provide information can be a moving target, depending on the make-up of the NLRB.  For example, for a brief period of time we saw how an employer could be found to have to … Continue Reading

Employer’s Representation Petition Not Barred By Existence of Signed Contract, Divided NLRB Rules

By Mark Theodore on Posted in Collective Bargaining, Decertification elections, NLRA, NLRB, Representation Elections, Uncategorized
As we have noted at times, the human element in labor relations makes for interesting situations.  One of the more interesting issues is the timeliness of representation petitions, which, despite the existence of clear rules, can still be disrupted by human action. A union, an employee or an employer can all file a representation petition with … Continue Reading

NLRB Finds Employer Effectively Repudiated Unlawful Handbook Rule…and RecusalGate Continues

By Mark Theodore on Posted in Employer policies, Handbook, NLRA, NLRB, Section 7, Section 8(a)(1), Solicitation, Uncategorized, Unfair Labor Practices
The Board issued an interesting decision discussing an employer’s successful efforts to repudiate unlawful conduct, which we’ll get to in a minute.  In our last post, we discussed a simmering dispute over the circumstances which an NLRB member must recuse himself or herself.  This issue, we’ll call it Recusalgate,  has taken an interesting turn.  In ADI … Continue Reading

NLRB Majority Decides 50-50 Balls In Employer Favor

By Mark Theodore on Posted in NLRA, NLRB, Section 8(a)(1), Section 8(a)(5), Uncategorized, Unfair Labor Practices
The NLRB  has been in a period of dormancy.  When the make-up of the Board changed, a lot of people expected an onslaught of NLRB decisions reversing the reversals of precedent made by the agency in the last 8 years.  Except for a couple of brief periods, most notably in December when then-Chairman Miscimarra departed, … Continue Reading

NLRB Announces Proposed Rule Changing Joint-Employer Standard

By Zach Fasman on Posted in Joint Employer, NLRA
The National Labor Relations Board announced that it will publish a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking today, September 14, regarding its joint-employer standard. The proposed rule will state that an employer may be considered a joint-employer of another employer’s employees only if it possesses and exercises substantial, direct and immediate control over the essential terms and … Continue Reading

NLRB Rejects “Constructive Denial of Transfer” and “Threat” Theories of Unfair Labor Practice Liability

By Mark Theodore on Posted in General Counsel, NLRA, NLRB, Protected activity, Section 8(a)(1), Uncategorized, Unfair Labor Practices
As we hurtle toward Labor Day, and the probable onslaught of decisions, and as NLRB Member Pearce’s tenure ends on August 27, the Board has been issuing a steady stream of cases.  Many of these appear to be garden variety type cases, with a smattering of cases now dismissing the theory of a class action waiver … Continue Reading

Arbitration Class Waivers, Past Practice (not established) and Skirmishing Over Information Requests All Part of Recent NLRB Action

By Mark Theodore on Posted in Collective Bargaining, Confidentiality, Duty to furnish information, Duty to provide information, General Counsel, Handbook, Investigations, NLRA, NLRB, Section 8(a)(5), Uncategorized, Unfair Labor Practices, Workplace Investigations
Since December 2017, when the Board issued a number of decisions which restored precedent that had been changed in the last few years, (discussed here, here, here, and here), not much of note has been happening at the Board.  Indeed, there was not a full complement at the Board until April when Chairman Ring was confirmed. Two upcoming events may see … Continue Reading

You’ve Got Mail: NLRB Requests Briefing on Standard for Employee Use of Employer Owned Electronic Communication Systems

By Michael Lebowich and Jordan Simon on Posted in Confidentiality, Email, Employer policies, NLRA, NLRB, Section 7, Social Media
In what could signify the beginning of the end for Purple Communications, Inc., 361 NLRB 1050 (2014) and guaranteed employee access to Employer computer systems for union organizing purposes, the NLRB issued a notice on August 1 inviting the filing of briefs on whether the Board should uphold, modify or overrule the decision.  Under Purple … Continue Reading

Employee’s Failed Attempt To Secure Union Representation Sufficient Notice of Weingarten Request, Divided NLRB Rules

By Mark Theodore on Posted in NLRA, NLRB, Section 8(a)(1), Uncategorized, Unfair Labor Practices, Workplace Investigations
One area of labor relations that continues to vex practitioners is the scope of the so-called Weingarten rights.  NLRB v. J. Weingarten Inc., 420 U.S. 251 (1975).  Some 43 years after the Supreme Court set forth the right that represented employees are entitled to union representation when facing an interview that could lead to discipline, … Continue Reading

NLRB General Counsel Issues Handbook on Handbook Rules

By Michael Lebowich, Joshua Fox and Jay M. Cohen on Posted in Advice, General Counsel, Handbook, NLRA, NLRB, Non-Union employers, Section 7, Uncategorized
Following up on the NLRB’s decision in The Boeing Company, 365 NLRB No. 154 (Dec. 14, 2017), on June 6, NLRB General Counsel Peter Robb issued a new Guidance Memorandum (18-04) detailing how NLRB Regional Offices receiving claims of improper employment policies are to interpret employer workplace rules. As we reported this past December (here), … Continue Reading

NLRB Considers Rulemaking to Address Hotly-Contested Joint-Employer Standard

By Mark Theodore, Joshua Fox and Dana N. Berber on Posted in Joint Employer, NLRA, NLRB, Rulemaking
As we previously reported here, here and here, the NLRB’s “joint employer” standard has vacillated over the last several years, and currently remains in flux.  For historical reference, the NLRB expanded the scope of joint-employment in 2015 in Browning-Ferris, 362 NLRB No. 186 (2015), and then reverted to a more rigorous showing that had been … Continue Reading

Thorough Employer Investigation Helps Establish Employer’s “Honest Belief” of Employees’ Picket Line Misconduct

By Mark Theodore on Posted in Collective Bargaining, General Counsel, Investigations, NLRA, NLRB, Protected activity, Section 7, Section 8(a)(1), Strikes, Uncategorized, Unfair Labor Practices
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 between what constitutes “protected” versus … Continue Reading
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