The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) must reconsider its newest ruling on the rights of certain employees to access private property to engage in activity on behalf of a union, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia has directed in an August 31, 2021, decision remanding NLRB v. Local 23, American Federation
NLRB
Recent Senate Confirmations Cement Democrat Control of NLRB
The Senate confirmed two union lawyers – David Prouty and Gwynne Wilcox – to seats on the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) on July 28, 2021, ensuring a Democratic majority for the first time in almost four years.
This follows the Senate’s confirmation of Jennifer A. Abruzzo, President Joe Biden’s nominee for General Counsel of…
NLRB Refuses to Deflate ‘Scabby the Rat’
A union’s use of Scabby the Rat (an inflatable rat “approximately 12 feet in height with red eyes, fangs, and claws”) and inflammatory banners targeting a neutral employer, without more, does not violate the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has ruled. Lippert Components Inc., 371 NLRB No. 8…
NLRB Regional Director Expands Unit by Thousands of Voters, But ‘Micro Units’ Held at Bay, For Now
The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) dismissed a union’s push to organize a micro unit of 87 employees at a Nissan assembly plant in Tennessee based on the traditional community-of-interest standards for determining whether a unit is appropriate. Nissan North America, Inc., 10-RC-273024 (June 11, 2021).
The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers…
D.C. Circuit Flips NLRB; Employer’s Alleged ‘Baseless’ Statements of Opinion Lawful
“Absent threats or promises, § 8(c) [of the National Labor Relations Act] unambiguously protects ‘any views, argument or opinion’ – even those that the agency finds misguided, flimsy, or daft,” the D.C. Circuit has held. Trinity Services Group, Inc. v. NLRB, No. 20-1014 (D.C. Cir. June 1, 2021)
The Court was asked to…
NLRB Finds I-9 Compliance Can Be Subject to Mandatory Bargaining
Complying with statutory workplace requirements does not necessarily excuse an employer from its bargaining obligations. A panel of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) upheld an Administrative Law Judge’s (ALJ) finding that an employer violated the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) when it refused to bargain over the effects of requiring employees to submit new…
Update: Biden Nomination for Fifth NLRB Seat Raises Ethics Issues
President Joe Biden has nominated Gwynne Wilcox, a partner in a New York law firm specializing in employee rights, to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).
Three of the five members of the NLRB are traditionally members of the president’s party. At present, there are four members seated, three of whom are Republican because of…
Labor Board Orders Business to Reopen; D.C. Circuit Says Not So Fast
The NLRB has the authority to order an employer to reopen a business it finds was closed for discriminatorily anti-union reasons. In RAV Truck & Trailer Repairs, Inc., 369 NLRB No. 36 (Mar. 3, 2020), the NLRB did just that. However, upon review, the D.C. Circuit held that it “cannot decipher how the Board…
President Biden Moved Quickly to Re-Direct NLRB in First 100 Days
President Joe Biden was sworn into office on January 20, 2021. In just the first 100 days, the Biden Administration has begun its return to more labor-friendly policies, rules, and decisions, similar to those issued under the Obama Administration.
For example, on Day 1, immediately upon taking office, President Biden demanded that Trump-appointed National Labor…
NLRB Finds Aggressive Bargaining Proposals Not Unlawful
An Administrative Law Judge’s (ALJ) findings that an employer engaged in bad faith bargaining and unlawfully withdrew recognition from the union has been overruled 2-1 by a panel of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). District Hospital Partners, L.P. d/b/a The George Washington University Hosp., 370 NLRB No. 118 (Apr. 30, 2021). While the…