Tag: National Labor Relations Board (NLRB)

Understanding the NRLB’s New Joint Employer Rule Proposal

Over the last decade, there has been a significant amount of litigation over how to determine if multiple companies are joint employers of a workforce. Joint employer status can create significant liability issues for the secondary employer in areas such as wages and safety matters. The rules governing that determination may be about to change.

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 Extends Joint Employment Comment Period Rule to December 7

The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has extended the comment period on its proposed rule that aims to make more employers susceptible to joint employment status. The original comment period was to go through November 7, but the NLRB announced on October 14 that it will accept comments through December 7. Comments replying to the […]

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.

NLRB General Counsel Seeks to Facilitate Union Organizing

National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) General Counsel (GC) Jennifer Abruzzo is taking aggressive positions designed to help unions be more successful in organizing. The GC is the agency’s top lawyer. While she can’t unilaterally change the law, she can argue prior precedent was wrongly decided and urge the present union-friendly NLRB members to change the […]

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 […]

Employers Should Take Note of Recent Spike in Union Organizing Activity

In the first quarter of 2022, unions filed more than 550 election petitions in the United States, compared with only 290 in the first quarter of 2021. It’s the largest first-quarter number filed in the past seven years. While part of the increase can be attributed to the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), which has […]

Back to the Salt Mines: Not a Veiled Antiunion Threat

President Joe Biden has made clear he intends to be “the most pro-union president you’ve ever seen.” The National Labor Relations Board’s (NLRB) recent initiatives under the direction of General Counsel (GC) Jennifer Abruzzo are definitely in line with the administration’s pro-union regulatory agenda. Abruzzo has recently targeted what employers may communicate regarding unionization. What […]

DOL Issues New Guidance to Employers Warning About Retaliation

Retaliation continues to be at the top of the federal government’s priority list. In March 2022, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued a new field assistance bulletin titled Protecting Workers from Retaliation, which addresses worker protections from retaliation under laws enforced by the agency’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD). The DOL pledged to “use every […]