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
Supreme Court Invalidates Recess Appointments To NLRB: Several Labor Board Decisions Now In Doubt
In a rare 9-0 decision issued today, the United States Supreme Court invalidated the recess appointments President Obama made to the NLRB on January 4, 2012, while the Senate was in a three day recess. The decision in National Labor Relations Board v. Noel Canning (USSC June 26, 2014) means
NLRB Overrules Another Longstanding Precedent: Witness Statements No Longer Exempt From Disclosure
The precedents are falling fast. Last week the NLRB overruled the five decade old Bethlehem Steel decision, and now another longstanding precedent has fallen. The NLRB issued a decision overruling Anheuser-Busch, Inc., 237 NLRB 982 (1978), the case that held that witness statements obtained during an employer investigation of
Holiday Season Extravaganza: NLRB Issues Flurry Of Law Changing Decisions
Last week the NLRB issued several significant decisions. In the press release announcing the decisions, the agency noted that most were actually issued “the week of December 10, but were issued this week following editing and formatting which is typical for the final decisions in a Member’s term.” This is
The Lull Before The Storm: Blizzard Of NLRB Activity Coming
The mid-point of Summer has passed. Although the NLRB has not issued a major decision in several weeks, the agency has not been slacking off this Summer. In a typical year, August and September are the busiest months for the NLRB, because the federal government’s fiscal year ends September 30.
NLRB Hints At Broader Agenda In Witness Statement Case
Employers faced with evidence of employee misconduct often conduct investigations. In many cases, there is no direct evidence. Oftetimes, there exists conflicting versions of events, and so witness statements are obtained. The employer then can consider all the aspects of what happened, taking into consideration who saw what, and the candor of
The NLRB Solicits Amicus Briefs On Whether Witness Statements Must Be Handed Over to a Union
As Ron Meisburg reported last week, the National Labor Relations Board recently announced in Hawaii Tribune-Herald, 356 N.L.R.B. No. 63 (2011) that it might reconsider its long-standing precedent that employers are not required to provide “witness statements” obtained in the course of a disciplinary investigation, to the unions
NLRB OKs Secret Taping By Employees, Clarifies Post-Discharge Misconduct Rules, And Asks, “What Are ‘Witness Statements?'”
The National Labor Relations Board’s recent decision in Hawaii Tribune-Herald, 356 N.L.R.B. No. 63 (2011) addresses several issues of importance to managers and labor law practitioners alike.
First, the Board held that employees may secretly tape record meetings with their managers that they reasonably believe could result in