Thomas V. Walsh

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In an interesting turn foreshadowing a coming change in its leadership, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has withdrawn the rule it proposed in September 2019 to exclude student workers at private colleges and universities from coverage under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). The proposed rule would have excluded students whose studies included working…

With President Biden charting a fundamentally different course in labor relations, employers should monitor developments taking place. In less than three weeks, Washington saw President Biden’s firing of National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) General Counsel Peter Robb, removal of Robb’s Deputy General Counsel Alice Stock, and appointment of Peter Sung Ohr as acting General Counsel…

New National Labor Relations Board (NLRB or Board) Acting General Counsel Peter Sung Ohr has wasted no time. In a February 1, 2021, Memorandum, Ohr announced rescission of 10 individual policy directives issued by Peter Robb. President Joe Biden terminated Robb as NLRB General Counsel shortly after his inauguration.

Why this is important?

NLRB General…

The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) upheld an administrative law judge’s (ALJ) ruling directing that an unfair labor practice trial be conducted by videoconference because of the COVID-19 pandemic. William Beaumont Hospital, 370 NLRB No. 9 (Aug. 13, 2020). This decision may have broad effect even after COVID-19 concerns have passed.

In-person testimony has…

In an effort increase the use of the in-person or manual ballot method for conducting secret ballot elections, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB or Board) General Counsel (GC) has issued comprehensive “suggestions” for conducting manual elections safely during the COVID-19 pandemic. Memorandum GC 20-10 “Suggested Manual Election Protocols” (July 6, 2020). These guidelines were…

The legal saga of the National Labor Relations Board’s (NLRB) new election rule took another turn on July 1 when a federal judge found the rule was a proper exercise of statutory interpretation.* 

The entire new rule was scheduled to go into effect on May 31, but U.S. District Court Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson issued …

U.S. District Court Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson of the District of Columbia has issued a detailed memorandum opinion explaining the reasoning behind her May 30, 2020 order granting summary judgment invalidating portions of the National Labor Relations Board’s (NLRB) revised rules for representation case elections. AFL-CIO v. NLRB, No. 20-CV-0675 (June 7, 2020)

The…

The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has lifted its stay of a mail ballot election ordered by a Regional Director and denied the employer’s Request for Review of the Regional Director’s decision, based on the COVID-19 pandemic, to order a mail, rather than manual, ballot election. Atlas Pacific Engineering Company, 27-RC-258742 (May 8, 2020).…

The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) is beginning to address procedural disruptions arising due to the COVID-19 pandemic. On May 6, 2020, without a request from any party to a case, the NLRB “announce[d] . . . a temporary change in the Board’s standard notice-posting remedy to adapt to the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic.” The temporary…