Through its decisions, the five-member National Labor Relations Board interprets the National Labor Relations Act. These decisions set rules that regulate unionized and non-unionized workplaces, including the relationship between employers and organized labor and the rights of employees to engage in concerted activities. With President Joe Biden’s appointees taking their seats, the Board’s Democratic majority
Third Time the Charm? NLRB to Revisit Rights of Contractor Employee Access to Employer Property
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
Bargaining Power Restored: NLRB Holds Dues Checkoff Ends at Contract Expiration
The National Labor Relations Board has held that an employer has no obligation to continue deducting union dues from employee paychecks pursuant to a dues checkoff provision in a collective bargaining agreement (CBA) after the CBA expires. Valley Hospital Medical Center, 368 NLRB No. 139 (Dec. 16, 2019). Chairman John Ring and Members William Emanuel
Discharge of Employee Who Protested Illegal Policy By Himself Ran Afoul of NLRA, Federal Appeals Court Rules
An employee who was discharged after protesting an admittedly illegal policy was entitled to reinstatement and back pay despite having acted on his own, the federal appeals court in New York has ruled, enforcing a National Labor Relations Board order. National Labor Relations Board v. Long Island Ass’n for AIDS Care, Inc., No. 16-2325
NLRB Signals More Trouble Ahead For Employers That Misclassify Employees
For a variety of reasons, employers may prefer to treat those who provide services to them as independent contractors rather than employees. However, when employers exercise a sufficient level of control over the ostensible independent contractors (as outlined in various “factor” tests), they may be considered employees under the law. If that happens, employers can
NLRB Cannot Show Unlawful Discharges Where Decision-Maker Was Unaware Of Employees’ Pro-Union Activity
Rejecting a National Labor Relations Board decision that two employees were unlawfully discharged for engaging in union activities because there was no evidence that the person who made the decision to discharge the workers knew that they had engaged in any union activity, a federal appeals court in Richmond has refused to enforce a Board