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No Need To Panic: The NLRB’s Atlanta Opera Decision Is Unlikely To Have a Major Impact on Independent Contractor Classification Disputes
The sky is not falling.
When the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB or Board) issued its Atlanta Opera decision on June 14, I read the decision. Then I read some of the commentary issued quickly by news outlets right after the decision dropped. I’m not sure whether all of those commentators read the actual decision.…
A New Front in the Noncompete Wars: NLRB’s General Counsel Claims Noncompete Agreements Violate the Labor Act
The General Counsel of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB or Board), Jennifer A. Abruzzo, recently issued a memorandum stating that “the proffer, maintenance, and enforcement” of noncompete provisions in employment contracts and severance agreements violate the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA or Act) except in limited circumstances.…
Sticks and Stones Break Bones, and the NLRB Protects the Words That Hurt: The NLRB’s Latest Decision Expands Protections for Profane Worker Outbursts
In the latest swing away from recent precedent, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB or Board) issued its ruling in Lion Elastomers LLC II, which overturns the 2020 General Motors LLC decision. These decisions address an employer’s ability to issue discipline in response to a worker’s profane speech or conduct purportedly taking place in…
Q&A Regarding the NLRB’s Decision on Confidentiality and Non-Disparagement Provisions in Severance Agreements
We recently wrote about the National Labor Relations Board’s (“NLRB” or “Board”) decision in McLaren Macomb (the “decision”) which reversed several Trump-era rulings that largely had allowed employers to proffer severance agreements to employees (generally, non-supervisors) containing broad confidentiality and non-disparagement provisions.
In response to the widespread uncertainty related to the decision, NLRB General Counsel…
Biden Administration Poised to Provide Union Organizers with Another Tool for Their Toolbox: The OSHA Inspection
In January 2023, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) revived a rule that would permit worker-designated representatives to accompany OSHA during the inspection process, regardless of whether the representative is an employee of the workplace being inspected. In other words, under the proposed rule, individuals who do not even work at the inspected workplace…
The NLRB Embraces Relativism in its Relevance Test
Under the National Labor Relations Act, unions are entitled to request information from an employer that is relevant to carrying out the union’s representation duties. The key limiting principle is that the union must demonstrate the “relevance” of information that does not pertain directly to the wages, hours or working conditions of bargaining unit employees.…
Severing from Precedent: NLRB Restricts Employers’ Ability to Include Standard Confidentiality and Non-Disparagement Provisions in Severance Agreements
The National Labor Relations Board issued a decision that reversed several Trump-era rulings allowing employers to proffer severance agreements to employees containing broad confidentiality and non-disparagement provisions. The Board’s decision holds that the “mere proffer” of a severance agreement containing a confidentiality and/or non-disparagement provision is unlawful where the clause is drafted too broadly and would…
Severing from Precedent: NLRB Restricts Employers’ Ability to Include Standard Confidentiality and Non-Disparagement Provisions in Severance Agreements
The National Labor Relations Board issued a decision that reversed several Trump-era rulings allowing employers to proffer severance agreements to employees containing broad confidentiality and non-disparagement provisions. The Board’s decision holds that the “mere proffer” of a severance agreement containing a confidentiality and/or non-disparagement provision is unlawful where the clause is drafted too broadly and would…
NLRB Gifts Employees Expansive Remedies in Time for the Holiday Season
“You get more remedies! You get more remedies! Everybody gets more remedies!”
Employers found to have committed an unfair labor practice (ULP) now may be required to compensate employees for interest and late fees on credit cards, penalties for early withdrawals from retirement accounts, out-of-pocket medical expenses, and other costs incurred to make ends meet.…