Labor RelationsBlog Posts
CFPB and NLRB Sign Information Sharing Agreement to Target Employer Surveillance and “Debt Traps” for EmployeesOn March 7, 2023, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), the federal government agency charged with protecting consumers in the financial sector, and the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), the federal government agency tasked with protecting private sector employees’ rights to engage in union organizing and other concerted activity, announced an information sharing agreement in order to... Continue ReadingMarch 21, 2023 |
Private Sector Union Membership Rate Declines in 2022The union membership rate among private sector workers fell to 6.0% in 2022, according to a U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) news release. This is down from 6.1% in 2021 and continues the overall decline since private sector union membership peaked in the mid-1950s. While organizing activity increased in 2022 (including workers at high-profile... Continue ReadingJanuary 19, 2023 |
College Athletes Closer to Being ‘Joint Employees’: NLRB Moves Case Against USC, the Pac-12, and NCAAThe fast-changing world of college athletics is about to collide with the ever-changing doctrine of joint employment. In January 2022, on behalf of football and basketball athletes at the University of Southern California (USC), the National College Players Association (NCPA) filed an unfair labor practice charge with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) against USC,... Continue ReadingDecember 21, 2022 |
NLRB Decision Grants Easier Property Access for Off-Duty Contract WorkersIn a 3-2 decision, the National Labor Relations Board has reinstated its prior standard providing a more expansive right of off-duty contractor employees to access publicly accessible areas of the primary employer’s workplace for the purpose of engaging in organizing activity. Part of a wave of decisions overturning Trump-era precedent (e.g., Labor Board Returns to... Continue ReadingDecember 17, 2022 |
NLRB General Counsel Memo on Electronic Monitoring of EmployeesResponding in part to the nature of the post-COVID-19 remote workplace, NLRB GC Jennifer Abruzzo has released a memo on employers’ use of electronic monitoring and automated management in the workplace. The memo also directs NLRB Regions to submit to the Division of Advice any cases involving intrusive or abusive electronic surveillance and algorithmic management... Continue ReadingNovember 1, 2022 |
Top Five Labor Law Developments for September 2022The National Labor Relations Board has proposed reversing the current joint-employer standard, which took effect on April 27, 2020. The new rule would revert to the Obama-era standard for determining joint-employer status under the National Labor Relations Act. Under the proposed rule, entities may be deemed joint employers if they “share or codetermine those matters governing... Continue ReadingOctober 10, 2022 |
NLRB Reminds Employers Importance of Applying Consistent Discipline Policies in WorkplaceNoting the employer did not have an employee code of conduct policy prohibiting the use of derogatory language, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) held an automotive dealership violated the National Labor Relations Act by wrongfully terminating a union employee for calling the owner a derogatory term during negotiations. Cadillac of Naperville, Inc., 371 NLRB... Continue ReadingOctober 4, 2022 |
What Manufacturing and Other Employers Can Expect From Biden National Labor Relations BoardThrough its decisions, the five-member National Labor Relations Board interprets the National Labor Relations Act. These decisions set rules that regulate unionized and non-unionized workplaces, including the relationship between employers and organized labor and the rights of employees to engage in concerted activities. With President Joe Biden’s appointees taking their seats, the Board’s Democratic majority... Continue ReadingSeptember 30, 2022 |
Labor Day 2022 Shows Union Activity at Highest Level in DecadesLabor Day 2022 comes at an optimistic time for U.S. labor unions. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, representation petitions and elections were declining steadily. However, National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) election filings have increased by 58% in the first nine months of 2022, compared with the same time period in 2021, according to a Board... Continue ReadingSeptember 15, 2022 |
California Court of Appeal Upholds Construction Industry CBA Exemption from PAGAThe California Court of Appeal for the Second Appellate District upheld the construction industry collective bargaining agreement exemption to the Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) in Oswald v. Murray Plumbing and Heating Corporation. Labor Code Section 2699.6 Under Labor Code section 2699.6, construction employees who perform work under a valid collective bargaining agreement (CBA) in effect... Continue ReadingSeptember 13, 2022 |