Tag: National Labor Relations act (NLRA)

Following New Decision, Your Handbook May Be Unlawful and Need Revision

Two years ago, in a memo issued by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), the agency’s general counsel signaled that one of the Board’s main priorities would be to scrutinize whether certain workplace policies unlawfully infringed on employees’ rights to engage in protected activity under Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). Common […]

Surveillance in the Workplace: An Update from the NLRB

The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) continues to move the needle on its interpretation of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) in favor of unions. For example, in Memorandum GC 23-02 entitled “Electronic Monitoring and Algorithmic Management of Employees Interfering with the Exercise of Section 7 Rights,” General Counsel Abruzzo outlined a new framework for […]

Shot Through the Heart: Did SCOTUS Give Strikes a Bad Name?

On June 1, 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a decision some have deemed a blow to the right to strike. The 8-1 decision crossed ideological lines, as both conservative and liberal members of the Court either joined the majority opinion or concurred. Strike In August 2017, the collective bargaining agreement between cement manufacturer Glacier […]

Employers Beware: NLRB Instructs on Harsh Penalties for Repeat Offenders

In its recently decided 2-1 decision, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) discussed additional remedies it may now consider in cases involving employers that have engaged in what the Board considers repeated or obvious disregard for employees’ rights under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). The decision is consistent with NLRB General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo’s […]

NLRB Narrows Permissible Terms in Severance Agreements

A recent National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) ruling determined that including certain nondisparagement and confidentiality provisions in severance agreements violates the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). Facts McLaren Macomb Hospital permanently furloughed 11 employees and contemporaneously presented them each with a “Severance Agreement, Waiver and Release.” The agreement contained provisions that broadly prohibited them from […]

Nationwide Right to Unionize Act Reintroduced

On September 8, 2022, federal Congressional legislators from Massachusetts and California reintroduced the Nationwide Right to Unionize Act, which takes aim at state “right to work” laws and attempts to increase employees’ right to unionize. Section 14(b) of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) prohibits compulsory union membership and payment of union dues and fees […]

NLRB Relaxes Standard for Union Insignias in Workplace

On August 29, 2022, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) issued a major decision that reversed a standard it set in 2019. Previously, employers enjoyed substantial discretion to limit alterations to work uniforms or other designated clothing in the workplace.

Student Athletes Sue to Be Classified as ‘Employees’

Since last year’s monumental Supreme Court decision in Alston curtailing the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s (NCAA) ability to limit student athlete compensation, the landscape continues to shift in unprecedented ways. In September 2021, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) announced its position that certain student athletes at private institutions should be considered employees for purposes […]