Management Memo

By: Adam C. Abrahms, Kara M. Maciel, Steven M. Swirsky, and Mark M. Trapp

The U.S. Supreme Court today held that the US Senate was not in recess on January 4, 2012, when President Obama made three “recess” appointments to the National Labor Relations Board under the Constitution’s Recess Appointment Clause.  In simple terms that means that the recess appointments were not proper and s decisions in which the recess appointees participated were not valid.

What this now means is that hundreds of cases decided by the NLRB following the January 4, 2012 recess appointments to the ...

By Kara M. Maciel and Lindsay A. Smith

On April 30, 2014, the National Labor Relations Board (the “Board”) invited interested parties to submit amicus briefs addressing an employee’s right to use an employer’s electronic communications system for Section 7 activity in the case of Purple Communications Inc.  Based on a prior Board decision in Guard Publishing Co. d/b/a Register Guard (2007), employers are not currently required to allow employee use of their e-mail systems for protected, concerted activities because in that case the Board held, “employees have no ...

As we reported on April 14, in “NLRB Receives Spirited Debate Over Ambush Election Rules During Public Meeting,” our colleague Kara M. Maciel spoke on behalf of the National Grocers Association, on three separate panels.

See below for the videos, or visit the NLRB channel on Youtube.

For 2 days, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) heard from speakers on its proposed rules to accelerate the processing of union representation petitions and quicken the timing of elections. The speakers ranged from several labor unions, including the UFCW, SEIU, CWA and AFL-CIO as well as a number of trade associations, including National Federation of Independent Businesses, Coalition for a Democratic Workplace, National Association of Manufacturers, U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and EBG client, National Grocers Association (NGA). The positions of the parties were ...

Our colleague Kara Maciel will speak on behalf of EBG client, National Grocers Association (“NGA”), at the National Labor Relations Board’s public meeting, scheduled for April 10-11, 2014 regarding the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (“NPRM”) on the “ambush election” representation procedures.

The panels will address the following topics:

• Panel B.2: Requirement for written statement of position
  Address issues related to the proposed requirement for a written statement of position.
• Panel E.1 & E.3: Election date
  Please describe the standard to be applied for ...

By Kara M. Maciel and Lindsay A. Smith

On March 12, 2014, the National Labor Relations Board (“the Board”) concluded that a beef processing company committed an unfair labor practice in violation of the National Labor Relations Act (“NLRA”) when it terminated three workers for striking in protest of their working conditions (“Greater Omaha Packing Co.”).  More significant, however, was the Board’s decision to reverse an Administrative Law Judge’s finding concerning the employer’s questioning of an employee.  Prior to the strike, one of the terminated ...

By Kara M. Maciel

Today, EBG client, National Grocers Association (“NGA”), filed a request to speak at the National Labor Relations Board’s public meeting, scheduled for April 10-11, 2014 regarding the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (“NPRM”) on the “ambush election” representation procedures.

NGA is the national trade association representing retail and wholesale grocers that comprise the independent sector of the food distribution industry.  NGA requested to speak on 4 key issues being contemplated by the NLRB:

1. Timing of the Election.  NGA opposes any ...

By Steven M. Swirsky, Adam C. Abrahms, Kara M. Maciel, and Casey M. Cosentino

As previously predicted by the Management Memo on August 1, 2013 and October 30, 2013, the National Labor Relations Board (the “Board”) issued a second Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (“NPRM”) to amend its existing rules and regulations governing union elections procedures. If they look familiar when you see them, there is a good reason for that: you have seen them before.

As readers of the Management Memo are well aware, the NPRM is the latest development in the long saga of organized labor’s attempts ...

by: Adam C. Abrahms, Kara M. Maciel, Adam C. Solander, and Steven M. Swirsky

On September 13, 2013, the Obama Administration rejected the union movement’s intense  lobbying efforts to seek a waiver, so that their members would be able to receive tax subsidies in the Affordable Care Act (“ACA”) Marketplaces for those of their members who will be offered “affordable coverage” from their employers.

Beginning January 1, 2015, the ACA requires that large employers offer affordable health coverage that provides minimum value to their “full-time employees” (those working ...