Management Memo

The National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) unfair labor practice hearing  against McDonald’s, USA, LLC (“McDonald’s) and numerous franchisees opened in New York City on Monday March 30, 2015, before Administrative Law Judge (“ALJ”) Lauren Esposito. (“ALJ”), a former NLRB field attorney and union lawyer. Also this week, the Service Employees International Union (“SEIU”) announced that it was investing an additional Fifteen Million Dollars in the Fight For Fifteen campaign, which seeks to organize fast food workers nationwide and that a series of ...

My colleague Barry A. Guryan published a Health Employment And Labor (HEAL) blog post that will be of interest to many of our readers: “NLRB Extends “Specialty Healthcare” to Acute Care Hospitals: Carves Unit into Multiple Smaller Pieces.”

Following is an excerpt:

Ever since 1974, when the NLRB (“Board”) first took jurisdiction over health care institutions, the Board has paid particular attention to the impact of union organizing on the delivery of healthcare in this industry in general  and of acute care hospitals in particular.  When the Act was first amended in ...

On March 18, 2015, NLRB General Counsel Richard F. Griffin, Jr. issued General Counsel Memorandum GC 15-04 containing extensive guidance as to the General Counsel’s views as to what types employer polices and rules, in handbooks and otherwise, will be considered by the NLRB investigators and regional offices to be lawful and which are likely to be found to unlawfully interfere with employees’ rights under the National Labor Relations Act (“NLRA” or the Act”).

This GC Memo is highly relevant to all employers in all industries that are under the jurisdiction of the National ...

Last week we reported on the fact that Teamsters Local 853 and Loop Transportation had completed negotiations for a first collective bargaining agreement covering a unit of shuttle bus drivers who provide transport for employees of Facebook.  We pointed out that employers in technology, media and telecommunications were facing union organizing targeting employees of their vendors and suppliers for transportation, maintenance, food service and the like, that threatened to enmesh such employers as a consequence of unions gaining recognition of their vendors’ and ...

Employers in the Technology Media and Telecommunications (“TMT”) industries have generally not thought that union organizing was an issue that affected their businesses and workforces.  Recent developments suggest that this is no longer the case.

These industries have earned reputations for innovative workplaces, generous benefits, and free food. At the same time, technology companies have outsourced many non-core functions such as campus security, maintenance, and transportation to third party suppliers.  Employees of these vendors  generally receive less ...

New Union Rules and Rulings: Proactive Strategies for Employers Facing Today’s Aggressive National Labor Relations Board and New Expedited Representation Elections

April 14, 2015 – Hilton Westchester, Rye Brook, New York

May 7, 2015 – The L.A. Hotel Downtown, Los Angeles, California

The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has adopted dramatic new rules and processes for union representation elections scheduled to take effect on April 14, 2015. The NLRB has also changed many of its standards concerning workplace rules, handbooks and policies affecting ALL EMPLOYERS ...

In a case emphasizing the importance of acting in good faith in the interactive process and how an employer can do it right, on February 13, 2015, the First Circuit denied the EEOC’s petition for a rehearing en banc of the court’s decision to dismiss a lawsuit brought against Kohl’s Department Stores, Inc. by a diabetic former employee who claimed that her erratic working hours were exacerbating her condition.  EEOC v. Kohl’s Dep’t Stores, Inc., 774 F.3d 127 (1st Cir. 2014), reh’g en banc denied (Feb. 13, 2015).

Pamela Manning, a former sales associate at Kohl’s, had type I ...

As the 40th anniversary of the landmark Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) is noted, an article by Allen B. Roberts featured in the Winter 2014 Benefits Law Journal observes that participating employees and contributing employers – as the primary stakeholders in the fortunes of multiemployer defined benefit pension plans – may not be among the celebrants. Employees who should benefit from retirement contributions and the employers who fund the payments are encountering a world different from that anticipated with the passage of ERISA. Increasingly, employers ...

On January 5, 2015, less than one month after the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) voted to adopt a Final Rule to amend its rules and procedures for representation elections, a lawsuit has been filed in the US District Court for the District of Columbia, asserting that the Board exceeded its authority under the National Labor Relations Act (Act) when it amended its rules for votes on union representation and that the new rule in unconstitutional and violates the First and Fifth Amendments of the US Constitution.

The suit was filed by the Chamber of Commerce of the United ...

Very often OSHA complaints go hand in hand with union organizing campaigns and other concerted activity protected under the National Labor Relations Act, at union and nonunion operations.

Our colleague Valerie Butera has prepared a thoughtful analysis concerning OSHA’s revised recordkeeping and reporting requirements in retail: “What Do OSHA’s Revised Recordkeeping and Reporting Rules Really Mean for Retailers?”

Below is an excerpt of Valerie's tips for retail employers:

• Train your safety and human resource professionals and your managers on the new reporting ...