Richard F. VitarelliBlog Posts
UPDATE House Passes Build Back Better Bill Retaining Heavy New Penalties for Employer NLRA ViolationsThe media has been covering the budget bill – the Build Back Better Act – which contains controversial provisions on many subjects. Among them are provisions that include new employer penalties under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). It appeared that some of the most aggressive of those penalties would not reach the final bill voted on... Continue ReadingNovember 22, 2021 |
Build Back Better Reconciliation Bill Includes Heavy New Penalties for Employer Violations of NLRAThe media has been covering the budget bill – the Build Back Better Act – which contains controversial provisions on many subjects. Among them are provisions that include new employer penalties under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). The political roadblock on the bill is a probable Senate filibuster which would prevent passage. The Biden... Continue ReadingOctober 29, 2021 |
GC Abruzzo’s Aggressive Remedial Agenda BeginsOn October 8, 2021, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) West Los Angeles regional office issued an unfair labor practice (ULP) complaint against the Daily Grill for allegedly violating section 8(a)(5) of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) by engaging in a pattern of delay intended to frustrate the bargaining process, according to the NLRB... Continue ReadingOctober 19, 2021 |
NLRB General Counsel Instructs Regions to Seek Enhanced Penalties NOWAs we discussed in our recent report on National Labor Relations Board General Counsel (“GC”) Jennifer Abruzzo’s August 12th agenda for the direction of NLRB case law, employers should be ready for an aggressive expansion of remedies that the NLRB will seek. In the short time since the GC’s memorandum was published, NLRB Chairman McFerran... Continue ReadingSeptember 10, 2021 |
Third Time the Charm? NLRB to Revisit Rights of Contractor Employee Access to Employer PropertyThe National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) must reconsider its newest ruling on the rights of certain employees to access private property to engage in activity on behalf of a union, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia has directed in an August 31, 2021, decision remanding NLRB v. Local 23, American Federation... Continue ReadingSeptember 10, 2021 |
Recent Senate Confirmations Cement Democrat Control of NLRBThe Senate confirmed two union lawyers – David Prouty and Gwynne Wilcox – to seats on the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) on July 28, 2021, ensuring a Democratic majority for the first time in almost four years. This follows the Senate’s confirmation of Jennifer A. Abruzzo, President Joe Biden’s nominee for General Counsel of... Continue ReadingAugust 2, 2021 |
NLRB Refuses to Deflate ‘Scabby the Rat’A union’s use of Scabby the Rat (an inflatable rat “approximately 12 feet in height with red eyes, fangs, and claws”) and inflammatory banners targeting a neutral employer, without more, does not violate the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has ruled. Lippert Components Inc., 371 NLRB No. 8 (July... Continue ReadingJuly 27, 2021 |
NLRB Regional Director Expands Unit by Thousands of Voters, But ‘Micro Units’ Held at Bay, For NowThe National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) dismissed a union’s push to organize a micro unit of 87 employees at a Nissan assembly plant in Tennessee based on the traditional community-of-interest standards for determining whether a unit is appropriate. Nissan North America, Inc., 10-RC-273024 (June 11, 2021). The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (UAW)... Continue ReadingJune 25, 2021 |
D.C. Circuit Flips NLRB; Employer’s Alleged ‘Baseless’ Statements of Opinion Lawful“Absent threats or promises, § 8(c) [of the National Labor Relations Act] unambiguously protects ‘any views, argument or opinion’ – even those that the agency finds misguided, flimsy, or daft,” the D.C. Circuit has held. Trinity Services Group, Inc. v. NLRB, No. 20-1014 (D.C. Cir. June 1, 2021) The Court was asked to “decide whether... Continue ReadingJune 14, 2021 |
NLRB Finds I-9 Compliance Can Be Subject to Mandatory BargainingComplying with statutory workplace requirements does not necessarily excuse an employer from its bargaining obligations. A panel of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) upheld an Administrative Law Judge’s (ALJ) finding that an employer violated the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) when it refused to bargain over the effects of requiring employees to submit new... Continue ReadingJune 11, 2021 |