An employer lawfully prohibited employees who interact with customers from wearing t-shirts printed with the words “Inmate” and “Prisoner” and containing black and white horizontal stripes, a federal appeals court has held, rejecting a 2-1 decision of the National Labor Relations Board. In Southern New England Telephone Company v. National Labor Relations Board, No.
Patrick L. Egan
Patrick L. Egan is a principal in the Boston, Massachusetts, office of Jackson Lewis P.C. Patrick works in traditional labor law.
He has assisted employers in all industries in all phases of union organizing campaigns. Patrick has represented employers in card-signing efforts and representation and decertification campaigns. He has conducted union awareness and positive employee relations training for hundreds of companies and employer groups. He has also assisted dozens of employers to preempt, prepare for and defend against union corporate campaigning.
Patrick has appeared for employers in representation, objections and challenged ballot hearings at the National Labor Relations Board. He has also represented employers in unfair labor practice charge investigations and trials. Patrick has also represented employers before the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and other state and federal agencies. Patrick has served as chief spokesman at hundreds of collective bargaining negotiations, including negotiations seeking a first contract and those aimed at reaching a successor contract. He speaks frequently before various employer and human resources groups on a variety of labor relations topics.
Patrick was a four-year starter and a senior captain of the varsity soccer team at Holy Cross.
After practicing management-side labor law at smaller firms in Springfield and Boston, Massachusetts, Patrick joined Jackson Lewis in 1990. He was elected a partner effective January 1, 1995.
Successor Employer Can Add Supervisor Duties to Jobs, NLRB General Counsel Found
The Division of Advice of the National Labor Relations Board’s Office of the General Counsel has determined that a “Burns” successor employer was permitted to add supervisory functions to job duties of the predecessor employer’s union-represented nurses because it timely informed the nurses and the union of its intention to do so. Chestnut Health…
NLRB’s Renewed Focus On Immigration Issues Affects Complaint Cases
The General Counsel of the National Labor Relations Board has instructed agency regional directors and other officials charged with investigating unfair labor practice charges to consider whether the immigration status of affected employees may affect the Board’s ability to proceed in litigation and fashion effective remedies.
On February 27, 2015, General Counsel Robert F. Griffin,…
Michigan Excludes Student-Athletes from Unions
Michigan has become the first state to exclude intercollegiate student-athletes at its public universities from the definition of a “public employee,” and therefore, the right to bargain collectively through a union.
An amendment to Michigan’s Public Employee Relations Act signed by Governor Rick Snyder excludes from the definition of “public employee” (1) “a student participating…
Northwestern University Election Takes Place Tomorrow: No Matter the Outcome, Effects of RD’s Decision on Players’ Status as Employees Likely to be Far-Reaching
The long-awaited Labor Board election in which scholarship football players at Northwestern University will decide on union representation is scheduled for tomorrow. If some published reports are accurate, a majority of those players who vote will vote “no” – against union representation. However, because of the pendency of Northwestern’s appeal of the Regional Director’s March…
If NCAA Scholarship Football Players Are Employees, What Are Coaches?…Supervisors?
The decision of the Regional Director of Region 13 of the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) that scholarship football players at Northwestern University are “employees” under the National Labor Relations Act (“NLRA”) has created an interesting question for all colleges and universities: Are members of coaching staffs now considered to be supervisors under the NLRA? …
Northwestern Scholarship Football Players Found to be Employees Eligible for Union Representation
In a decision that has wide-ranging implications for college and university athletics programs, the Regional Director for Region 13 of the National Labor Relations Board has found that scholarship football players at Northwestern University are “employees” within the meaning of the National Labor Relations Act and eligible for union representation. The Regional Director found appropriate…
U.S. Department of Labor Delays Implementation of Revised ‘Persuader’ Rule
The Department of Labor’s proposed final revisions to its rule requiring employers and others to report arrangements, receipts, and expenditures derived from providing services defined as persuasive activities will not be implemented by the March 2014 target date. A new implementation date was not announced. This is the second delay for the revisions, which originally…