Labor & Employment Law Blog

A recent NLRB decision in Lion Elastomers LLC, 372 NLRB 83 (May 1, 2023) restored prior Board law, which had used context-specific approaches to assess whether am employee’s outburst stripped him of protection under the National Labor Relations Act (the “Act”).  The decision by the current, three-member Democratic majority Board, makes it more difficult for employers to discipline or discharge employees who engage in profane, abusive or otherwise inappropriate conduct when done in connection with protected activity under the Act.  The restored law assesses employee conduct by applying highly amorphous setting-specific tests for the following various contexts: 

On February 8, 2017, the Supreme Court announced it will schedule oral arguments in its review of class action waivers in the 2017 Supreme Court session, which starts in October.  In January, the Court announced it would review three cases involving whether class action waivers that are required as a condition of employment in individual employee arbitration agreements violate federal labor law.

In 2012, the ...

The NLRB recently held that temporary employees and regular employees have a right to petition to join a combined bargaining unit, even if the staffing agency and employer object to the formation of the combined unit. In Miller & Anderson, 364 NLRB No. 9 (July 11, 2016), the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) continued its campaign to undermine third-party staffing relationships.  The decision ...

The U.S. Supreme Court’s 4-4 ruling on March 29, 2016 in the Friedrich’s case leaves unions’ agency fees intact for now.  It remains possible that the Court could revisit the same questions at some point in the future.  The Friedrich’s case involves the public sector workplace, where government workplaces, public budgets, and Constitutional limitations can create unique labor relations issues ...

The new National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) election rules change a process that has existed for years.  Unions are waiting for April 14 to file election petitions.  Employers should take steps to understand the new rules and to be prepared to respond.

The NLRB will require posting of a notice to employees within two days of an election petition.

Employers must provide a statement of position within ...

On June 26, 2014, the United States Supreme Court, in a 9-0 decision, ruled that three recess appointments President Obama made in 2012 to the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) were invalid.  The Court affirmed the decision of the District of Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals, focusing on the language of the Recess Appointment Clause of the Constitution, which it weighed against the historical ...

In 2011 the National Labor Relations Board ordered private sector employers nationwide to post a Notice of Rights. While no such posting is required by the law itself, the NLRB justified the posting requirement on the basis of regulations and a need for public awareness of workplace rights. That said, the list of rights was not comprehensive, and selectively included the right of employees to form and organize ...

With the close of the 2013 legislative session on September 12, 2013, the California Legislature passed Assembly Bill 10 (“AB 10”), which will increase the state’s minimum wage to $9.00 per hour by July 1, 2014, and $10.00 per hour by January 1, 2016.  AB 10 now awaits signature by Governor Jerry Brown by October 13, 2013.  The Governor has promised he will sign the bill.

The current California minimum wage is ...

A second federal appellate court has rejected the National Labor Relations Board’s mandate that private sector employers post a Notice spelling out some, but not all, of employees' workplace rights. The ruling in Chamber of Commerce v. NLRB comes from a lawsuit brought in South Carolina to challenge the poster regulation.

Earlier, the District of Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals had rejected the NLRB's ...

On May 7, a federal court of appeals in Washington, DC ruled that the National Labor Relations Board cannot require private sector employers across the country to post a workplace poster which advises employees of certain rights under the National Labor Relations Act. Citing free speech concerns and a lack of balance in favoring a unionized workplace, the court struck a further blow against NLRB's proposed ...