Labor Law - General

Unions won 72% of all representation elections conducted by the National Labor Relations Board in 2016, and 74% when the election involved a small unit of 49 workers or less, according to a Bloomberg BNA report based on NLRB data. These percentages are a four-year high for unions. At the same time,

On Thursday, March 9, 2017, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit held long-awaited oral arguments in Browning-Ferris International v. NLRB. The case will be critical in defining joint employment under the National Labor Relations Act, and could have significant ramification

Activists throughout the U.S., but focused in Washington, D.C., are planning a protest that exhorts employees not to report to work on February 16, 2017, as one measure to demonstrate what a “Day Without Immigrants” can mean to the economy.

As a result of the Supreme Court’s recent decision to grant certiorari and address the dispute over whether class and collective action waivers are lawful in an arbitration agreement, many employers have asked whether similar cases pending at the NLRB will be held in abeyance while the Court resolve

For the fourth time, Secretary of Labor nominee Andrew Puzder’s hearing before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee has been postponed, this time indefinitely, according to Politico. The Wall Street Journal reports the postponement is the result of “persistent questions

District Court Judge Jorge L. Alonso recently upheld Magistrate Judge Michael T. Mason’s ruling in a sex discrimination and hostile work environment case that forensic examination of a plaintiff’s electronic devices was not proportional to the needs of the case because any benefit the inspection mig

President Donald J. Trump met on January 23 with several union leaders and employees in the construction and sheet metal industries, according to Politico. Unions represented at the meeting include the United Brotherhood of Carpenters, North America’s Building Trades Unions, Laborers’ International

Oral argument on Browning-Ferris Industries of California, Inc.’s appeal seeking to overturn the National Labor Relations Board’s landmark joint employer decision, Browning-Ferris Industries of California, Inc., 362 NLRB No. 186 (Aug. 27, 2015), has been scheduled for March 9, 2017, by the U.S. Cour

The NLRB’s “quickie election rule” (QER) is not having its desired or expected effect of energizing union organizing. According to NLRB statistics, fewer “RC” petitions (seeking union representation) were filed in FY 2016 than in FY 2015 — 2,029 vs. 2,198. (The NLRB’s fiscal year is October 1 throug

Several federal agencies have joined forces to release a joint Fact Sheet highlighting the various anti-retaliation provisions of the workplace laws these agencies enforce. “Retaliation Based on the Exercise of Workplace Rights is Unlawful” is a collaborative effort of the National Labor Relations B

A Texas jury has awarded a company $7.8 million in compensatory damages and interest after finding Service Employees International Union Local 5 significantly damaged the company’s business through false claims of workplace violations. As a result, Local 5 has filed for federal bankruptcy protection

James P. Hoffa has received a majority of valid votes cast in the election for General President of the Teamsters Union, according to ibtvote.org, the official website for the Office of the Election Supervisor for the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. The counting of ballots was completed on N

Back in June, we reported that a district court in Texas issued a nationwide preliminary injunction prohibiting the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) from implementing the new “persuader” rules that were set to take effect July 1, 2016 marking a significant victory for employers. That same court on Nov

A federal court in Texas has issued a decision permanently blocking the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) from implementing the final version of its "persuader rule." See National Federation of Independent Businesses v. Perez (N.D. Tex. November 16, 2016). On June 27, 2016, the court issued a temporary

The election of Donald Trump as the 45th President of the United States carries with it the possibility of major changes in the field of labor law. The most significant changes likely will come at the National Labor Relations Board.

The federal appeals court in D.C. has issued a scathing rebuke of the National Labor Relations Board’s blanket nonacquiescence policy and ordered the Board to pay nearly $18,000.00 in attorney’s fees for what the court deemed bad faith litigation.

Six employees who stopped work and engaged in an in-store protest over their alleged mistreatment by a supervisor and to secure permanent jobs for temporary employees were unlawfully disciplined, the National Labor Relations Board has determined. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., 364 NLRB No. 118 (Aug. 27, 201

In the midst of a heated presidential election cycle, employers are following recent decisions of the National Labor Relations Board closely. Before losing its three-member Democratic majority at the expiration of Board Member Kent Hirozawa’s term on August 27, 2016, the NLRB issued numerous decisio

For a variety of reasons, employers may prefer to treat those who provide services to them as independent contractors rather than employees. However, when employers exercise a sufficient level of control over the ostensible independent contractors (as outlined in various “factor” tests), they may be

In two recent cases, the National Labor Relations Board distinguished between faculty members providing secular instruction and those providing religious instruction, in concluding that only those providing religious instruction were exempt from National Labor Relations Act coverage. In so doing, th