Labor Relations Law Blog

It seems to be increasingly the case that employers find themselves facing conflicting demands from labor unions for assignments of work.  Such competing claims are often referred to as jurisdictional disputes.  In other circumstances, employers may find themselves faced with a labor union’s claims that the employer does not provide employees with “area standard” wages or benefits.  While often ...

Employers that have become exasperated at the regulatory zeal of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) in the area of workplace policies scored a welcome victory in the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals.  In T-Mobile USA, Inc. v. National Labor Relations Board, 2017 WL 3138612 (5th Cir. July 25, 2017), the Fifth Circuit refused to enforce an NLRB order that declared that an employee handbook policy requiring ...

On July 24th, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the district court’s dismissal of an antitrust claim against a labor union and a multi-employer collective bargaining association. In International Longshore and Warehouse Union et al. v. ICTSI Oregon, Inc. (9th Cir., July 24, 2017), 2017 WL 3122767, the Court of Appeals held that actions taken jointly by the International Longshore and Warehouse ...

On July 3rd, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit decided a case involving the interplay between Sections 7 and 10(c) of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). On the one hand, employers may not discharge employees for engaging in activities protected by Section 7 of the NLRA, including employees’ communications to third parties or to the public that seek to improve their lot as employees. On the ...

On June 27th, President Trump announced the selection of William Emanuel, an experienced management-side labor attorney in private practice, for the second of two vacancies on the National Labor Relations Board. The NLRB oversees and adjudicates union elections and disputes between employers, workers, and unions. It also enacts rules and regulations in furtherance of its role to enforce the National ...

On June 19th, President Trump announced his intention to nominate attorney Marvin Kaplan, a Republican, to the National Labor Relations Board. Kaplan currently serves as Chief Counsel of the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission. Previously, Kaplan worked with the U.S. House of Representatives.

The NLRB, which oversees union elections and disputes between employers, workers, and unions ...

On June 7, the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB” or “Board”) ruled that a company committed an unfair labor practice by unlawfully interrogating and discharging an employee. Specifically, in RHCG Safety Corp. and Construction & General Building Laborers, Local 79, LIUNA, 356 NLRB No. 88, 2017 WL 2497155, the NLRB found National Labor Relations Act (“Act”) violations when a supervisor sent an employee a text message inquiring about the employee’s union activity, and then told him there was no work for him.

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 National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) furthered its quest to expand the remedies available under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) with a recent victory in the DC Circuit.  In Camelot Terrace, the DC Circuit held that the NLRB may order an employer to reimburse a union for its bargaining expenses for instances of “flagrant” or “egregious” bad faith bargaining.  Camelot Terrace, et al. v ...

A new NLRB decision dramatically restricts the ability of employers to “permanently replace” economic strikers.  See Piedmont Gardens, 364 NLRB No. 13 (May 31, 2016).  Since the Supreme Court’s landmark decision of NLRB v. Mackay Radio & Telegraph Co., 304 U.S. 333 (1938), it has been understood that employers have a broad right to “permanently replace” employees who are on an economic strike.  ...