Labor RelationsBlog Posts
President Biden Moved Quickly to Re-Direct NLRB in First 100 DaysPresident Joe Biden was sworn into office on January 20, 2021. In just the first 100 days, the Biden Administration has begun its return to more labor-friendly policies, rules, and decisions, similar to those issued under the Obama Administration. For example, on Day 1, immediately upon taking office, President Biden demanded that Trump-appointed National Labor... Continue ReadingMay 24, 2021 |
NLRB Finds Aggressive Bargaining Proposals Not UnlawfulAn Administrative Law Judge’s (ALJ) findings that an employer engaged in bad faith bargaining and unlawfully withdrew recognition from the union has been overruled 2-1 by a panel of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). District Hospital Partners, L.P. d/b/a The George Washington University Hosp., 370 NLRB No. 118 (Apr. 30, 2021). While the Board’s... Continue ReadingMay 17, 2021 |
Labor Board Withdraws Proposed Rule Excluding Student Workers from NLRA CoverageIn an interesting turn foreshadowing a coming change in its leadership, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has withdrawn the rule it proposed in September 2019 to exclude student workers at private colleges and universities from coverage under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). The proposed rule would have excluded students whose studies included working as teaching... Continue ReadingMarch 15, 2021 |
Congressional Democrats Advance Pro-Labor Initiatives with Reintroduction of the PRO ActWith President Biden charting a fundamentally different course in labor relations, employers should monitor developments taking place. In less than three weeks, Washington saw President Biden’s firing of National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) General Counsel Peter Robb, removal of Robb’s Deputy General Counsel Alice Stock, and appointment of Peter Sung Ohr as acting General Counsel... Continue ReadingFebruary 11, 2021 |
Acting NLRB General Counsel Rescinds Policy Guidance, Signals More Changes to ComeNew National Labor Relations Board (NLRB or Board) Acting General Counsel Peter Sung Ohr has wasted no time. In a February 1, 2021, Memorandum, Ohr announced rescission of 10 individual policy directives issued by Peter Robb. President Joe Biden terminated Robb as NLRB General Counsel shortly after his inauguration. Why this is important? NLRB General... Continue ReadingFebruary 3, 2021 |
Labor Board Provides Guidance on Propriety of Mail or Manual Ballot ElectionsThe National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has established standards for its regional directors to weigh in on whether a representation election in which COVID-19 is a concern should be conducted by mail ballot or in-person (manual) ballot. Aspirus Keweenaw, 370 NLRB No. 45 (2020). Chairman John F. Ring and Members Marvin E. Kaplan and William... Continue ReadingNovember 10, 2020 |
Labor Board Asks for Briefing on ‘Scabby the Rat’The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has asked for the parties and amici to submit briefs answering four questions in a case involving a union’s display of a large inflatable rat, commonly called “Scabby the Rat,” and two large banners on public property near the entrance of a neutral employer’s site. International Union of Operating... Continue ReadingNovember 6, 2020 |
Labor Board Decision Broadly Approves Holding ULP Trials by VideoThe National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) upheld an administrative law judge’s (ALJ) ruling directing that an unfair labor practice trial be conducted by videoconference because of the COVID-19 pandemic. William Beaumont Hospital, 370 NLRB No. 9 (Aug. 13, 2020). This decision may have broad effect even after COVID-19 concerns have passed. In-person testimony has been... Continue ReadingAugust 17, 2020 |
NLRB: Browning-Ferris Unjustly Found a Joint EmployerThe National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has ruled that Browning-Ferris Industries is not a joint employer of employees of one of its contractors. Browning-Ferris Industries of California, Inc., 369 NLRB No. 139 (July 29, 2020) (B-F II). The NLRB held that the Obama-era NLRB’s 2015 decision that overruled 30 years of NLRB precedent on the... Continue ReadingAugust 2, 2020 |
Despite New GC Guidelines, Mail Ballot Elections the NormThe early evidence is in, and the results are clear. National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) Regional Directors decidedly have not embraced the General Counsel’s (GC) guidelines on conducting manual ballot (in-person) elections during the COVID-19 pandemic. Memorandum GC 20-10 “Suggested Manual Election Protocols” (July 6, 2020). For more on the guidelines, see our blog, NLRB... Continue ReadingJuly 29, 2020 |