On September 6, New York State Governor Kathy Hochul signed into law (A6604 / S4982) a bill banning businesses from requiring employees to attend meetings or listen to communications where the “primary purpose” of such meetings or communications is for management to voice its views on certain religious or political matters, including joining
Labor Relations Update
What A Week…NLRB Unleashes Slew Of Preceding-Shifting Decisions And Paves The Way For Increased Unionization
The National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB” or “Board”) engaged in a pre-Labor Day frenzy that coincided with the conclusion of Member Gywnne Wilcox’s 3-year term. Labor Relations Update has been at the forefront of keeping pace with this abrupt series of precedent reversals, providing summaries and analyses of these impactful decisions and rule proposals that…
Raytheon No More: NLRB Significantly Cuts Down Employers’ Power to Act Unilaterally
In another much-anticipated reversal of existing precedent, as the National Labor Relations Board (“Board”) completes its late-summer flurry before the Labor Day weekend, the Board issued a pair of decisions overruling different aspects of the 2017 decision Raytheon Network Centric Systems, 365 NLRB No. 161 (2017) (see our discussion here).
Prior Precedent: Raytheon
In…
NLRB Precedent Again Proves Malleable As Board Remolds Standard On Protected Concerted Activity in Miller Plastic Products
Another One: The NLRB Revives Standard That Employees Are Protected When Advocating for Nonemployees
By Joshua Fox & Austin McLeod
Not A Clean Break: Cautionary Tale for Employers Looking To Close Plants
In a very active end of summer for labor law, the National Labor Relations Board (“Board”) ruled in a 2-1 decision, in Quickway Transportation, Inc., 372 NLRB No. 127, that a company’s closure of a terminal where its drivers were unionized violated the National Labor Relations Act (“NLRA”). The Board found that the company…
NLRB Clarifies Burden Shifting Framework in Mixed-Motive Cases
On August 28, 2023, the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB” or the “Board”) issued its decision in Intertape Polymer Corp., 372 NLRB No. 133 (2023) clarifying the standard by which the General Counsel satisfies her initial burden of persuasion in cases involving mixed motives for adverse employment actions. Specifically, the Board revisited and clarified…
NLRB Reinvigorates 1949 Joy Silk Doctrine Giving Great Weight To Demands For Recognition
As we previously reported in April 2022, the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB” or “Board”) General Counsel, Jennifer Abruzzo, asked the Board to revive the Joy Silk doctrine (which was rejected in 1969) and require employers to recognize unions without a secret ballot election.
On August 25, 2023, the Board released its decision in Cemex…
Here We Go Again: Board Resurrects “Quickie” Election Rules
With over 58,000 workers reportedly unionizing so far in 2023 and the number of representation petitions on the rise, it comes as no surprise that the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB” or the “Board”) continues to make changes to expedite the unionization process.
Specifically, in a recent rule published on August 24, 2023, which…
A Change on the Horizon: US DOL Set to Finalize New Prevailing Wage Rules for Construction Industry
During what has already proven to be a very busy month for federal labor law, the U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) is poised to implement yet another pivotal change. On August 8, 2023, DOL announced it will soon publish a rule that, among other things, changes the prevailing wage calculation for federally-funded construction projects—a decision…