Management Memo

On October 24, 2019, Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) introduced the Protecting American Jobs Act.  The bill, cosponsored by Senators Tom Cotton (R-AR), Rand Paul (R-KY), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Ted Cruz (R-TX), and Marco Rubio (R-FL), would significantly amend the National Labor Relations Act (“NLRA”) by removing much of the authority currently held by the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB” or “Board”).

Under the NLRA, the Board’s General Counsel is responsible for investigating unfair labor practice (“ULP”) charges, issuing complaints regarding ULP ...

As discussed in previous blog posts and articles, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), in Boeing Co., overruled past precedent that had resulted in the invalidation of “commonsense [workplace] rules and requirements that most people would reasonably expect every employer to maintain.”  Boeing sought to return the analysis to a more balanced approach in which workplace rules would no longer be struck down simply because such rules could have been more narrowly tailored or just because a hypothetical employee theoretically might construe them to conflict with the ...

As summer turned to fall, the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB” or the “Board”) issued a steady stream of decisions with significant and favorable implications for employers.  In the flurry of recent decisions, the Board addressed misclassification of workers as independent contractors, employers’ rights to control access to private property (Tobin Center for Performing Arts, UPMC, and Kroger Mid-Atlantic), the right to impose class action waivers in the wake of employment lawsuits, withdrawal of union recognition, the appropriate scope of bargaining units

In a Trending News interview from Employment Law This Week®, our colleague RyAnn McKay Hooper of Epstein Becker Green discusses the Republican-majority NLRB's recent decisions and how they signal a shift in the Board’s focus:

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (“WHD”) recently issued an opinion letter regarding the designation of FMLA leave in the context of employees covered by collective bargaining agreements (“CBA”) with a union.  This opinion letter provides helpful clarification on an issue that is often a source of confusion for employers (as well as for unions).

Overview

Earlier this year, the WHD advised that once an eligible employee communicates a need to take leave for a FMLA-qualifying reason, an employer may not delay the designation of FMLA-qualifying leave as ...

This Employment Law This Week^® Monthly Rundown discusses the most important developments for employers in July 2019. Both the video and the extended audio podcast are now available.

This episode includes:

• State Legislation Heats Up
• NLRB Overturns Another Long-Standing Precedent
• SCOTUS October Term 2018 Wraps Up
• Tip of the Week: How inclusion and trust can increase innovation in the workplace

See below to watch the full episode - click here for story details, the video, and the extended audio podcast.

Stay tuned: Sign-up for email notifications and subscribe to the ...

Last Friday, the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) in UPMC overturned 38-year old precedent and held that employers may lawfully prohibit non-employee union solicitation in public spaces on their property absent evidence of discriminatory enforcement. This ruling may seem like common sense to many as employers have long been permitted to control what types of activities occur on their private property in other contexts.  However, for the past four decades, the NLRB has compelled employers to allow non-employee union organizers to engage in non-disruptive ...

In its new podcast series, Employment Law This Week has released an extended Monthly Rundown, discussing some of the most important developments for employers in June 2019.

This episode includes:

• Worker Classification in the Gig Economy
• NLRB Announces Rulemaking Agenda
• National Backlash Builds Against Non-Compete Agreements
• Tip of the Week: Compliance with New Jersey’s Equal Pay Act

Stay tuned: Listen to the latest episode on our website or on your preferred platform – iTunes, Google Play, Soundcloud, or Spotify – be sure to subscribe!

The rulemaking priorities of the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB” or “Board”) have been released, signaling what Board Chairman John F. Ring described as “the Board majority’s strong interest in continued rulemaking.” The announcement was contained in the Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions, published by the Office of Management and Budget’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs.

Issues Identified by the Board for Further Rulemaking

The Board majority has identified the following as areas in which it intends to engage ...

The Division of Advice of the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB” or “Board”), in an Advice Memorandum, dated April 16, 2019 (“Advice Memo”),[1] has concluded that “drivers providing personal transportation services” using Uber Technologies Inc.’s “app-based ride-share platforms” were independent contractors and not employees, as the drivers had alleged in a series of unfair labor practice charges filed in 2014, 2015, and 2016. Based on the Division of Advice’s analysis of the relationship between Uber and the drivers, the General Counsel’s ...