Labor RelationsBlog Posts
NLRB Continues to Relax Restraints on Workplace Investigations ConfidentialityThe National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) continues to relax restrictions on rules requiring confidentiality of ongoing workplace investigations. Securitas Security Services USA, 369 NLRB No. 57 (Apr. 14, 2020). Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) protects employees’ rights to discuss workplace issues. This protection includes employee discussion of discipline, discrimination, harassment, and... Continue ReadingApril 20, 2020 |
Should Virtual Arbitrations Be the Wave of the Present?With COVID-19 causing most states to require their citizens to stay at home, employers face a challenge: what to do about their backlog of arbitration cases? For some cases, it may not matter when they are heard and decided. However, for others, such as those involving the potential for a backpay award, a sooner-than-later case... Continue ReadingApril 13, 2020 |
NLRB Delays Effective Date of Election Rule on Blocking Charges, Recognition Bar, Construction IndustryThe National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has postponed until July 31, 2020, the effective date of its final rule modifying three aspects of its election procedures: its blocking charge policy, the voluntary recognition bar doctrine, and its rule regarding National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) Section 9(a) recognition in the construction industry. According to the NLRB,... Continue ReadingApril 9, 2020 |
NLRB Issues Final Rule Changing Three Election ProceduresThe National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has issued a Final Rule modifying three aspects of its election procedures: its blocking charge policy, the voluntary recognition bar doctrine, and its rule regarding National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) Section 9(a) recognition in the construction industry. The NLRB issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on August 12, 2019,... Continue ReadingApril 2, 2020 |
NLRB: Representation Elections Resume April 6, 2020The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has announced that it will resume conducting representation elections on April 6, 2020. On March 19, 2020, because of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the NLRB had ordered the temporary suspension of Board-conducted elections through April 3, 2020. In the announcement, NLRB Chairman John F. Ring remarked that the NLRB’s... Continue ReadingApril 1, 2020 |
GC Memo Summarizes NLRB Decisions About Duty To Bargain in Emergency SituationsPeter B. Robb, the General Counsel (GC) of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has issued a Memorandum setting forth summaries of NLRB decisions about unionized employers’ duty to bargain in emergency situations. Memorandum GC 20-04 “Case Summaries Pertaining to the Duty to Bargain in Emergency Situations” (March 27, 2020). The Memorandum was issued in... Continue ReadingMarch 28, 2020 |
NLRB Delays Election Rule Start Date to June 1 at Judge’s RequestThe National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has delayed implementation of its new representation case rules to June 1, 2020. (For more on the new rule, which was supposed to be effective on April 16, 2020, see Labor Board: Upcoming New Election Rule Relieves Employers of Many Burdens of Quickie Election Rule.) The NLRB previously announced... Continue ReadingMarch 22, 2020 |
National Labor Relations Board Suspends Elections through April 3Considering the COVID-19 pandemic, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has announced the suspension of all representation elections, including mail ballot elections, through April 3, 2020. The NLRB could extend the suspension if necessary. The NLRB indicated the health and safety of its employees, as well as members of the public involved in the election... Continue ReadingMarch 20, 2020 |
Unions Must Publicly Report More Financial InformationPursuant to a controversial new rule passed by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), “Labor Organization Annual Financial Reports for Trusts in Which a Labor Organization Is Interested,” unions must disclose how certain union-controlled trusts spend and invest their funds. The rule requires unions with revenue in excess of $250,000 to file annual reports (Form... Continue ReadingMarch 20, 2020 |
Virginia Opens Door to Collective Bargaining for Public EmployeesThe Virginia General Assembly has passed legislation that paves the way for Virginia counties, cities, and towns to adopt local ordinances or resolutions authorizing collective bargaining with labor unions on behalf of public officers and employees. The bill is awaiting Governor Ralph Northam’s signature. The Code of Virginia currently provides that no state, county, city,... Continue ReadingMarch 19, 2020 |