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
National Labor Relations Board
Acting NLRB General Counsel Rescinds Policy Guidance, Signals More Changes to Come
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…
Labor Board Provides Guidance on Propriety of Mail or Manual Ballot Elections
The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has established standards for its regional directors to weigh in on whether a representation election in which COVID-19 is a concern should be conducted by mail ballot or in-person (manual) ballot. Aspirus Keweenaw, 370 NLRB No. 45 (2020).
Chairman John F. Ring and Members Marvin E. Kaplan and…
Labor Board Asks for Briefing on ‘Scabby the Rat’
The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has asked for the parties and amici to submit briefs answering four questions in a case involving a union’s display of a large inflatable rat, commonly called “Scabby the Rat,” and two large banners on public property near the entrance of a neutral employer’s site. International Union of Operating…
Labor Board Decision Broadly Approves Holding ULP Trials by Video
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…
NLRB: Browning-Ferris Unjustly Found a Joint Employer
The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has ruled that Browning-Ferris Industries is not a joint employer of employees of one of its contractors. Browning-Ferris Industries of California, Inc., 369 NLRB No. 139 (July 29, 2020) (B-F II).
The NLRB held that the Obama-era NLRB’s 2015 decision that overruled 30 years of NLRB precedent…
Despite New GC Guidelines, Mail Ballot Elections the Norm
The early evidence is in, and the results are clear. National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) Regional Directors decidedly have not embraced the General Counsel’s (GC) guidelines on conducting manual ballot (in-person) elections during the COVID-19 pandemic. Memorandum GC 20-10 “Suggested Manual Election Protocols” (July 6, 2020). For more on the guidelines, see our blog, NLRB…
At It Again: NLRB Proposes More Changes to Its Election Rules, Policies
Continuing its reshaping of its election rules, policies, and procedures, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has proposed two new amendments to the policies and procedures governing its elections. The changes will be published on July 29, 2020, in a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) in the Federal Register.
Under the so-called 2014 “quickie election…
U.S. Senate to Vote on New NLRB Member
The Senate plans to vote during the last week in July on the nomination of Lauren McFerran to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), according to Employment Law360.
Currently, the five-member NLRB has two vacancies. McFerran, a Democrat, served on the NLRB from December 17, 2014, to December 16, 2019.
The three current NLRB…
NLRB Employees Union to NLRB: Rescind Manual Election Guidelines
The National Labor Relations Board Union (NLRBU), which represents the employees of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), wants NLRB General Counsel (GC) Peter Robb to rescind his guidelines about how to conduct representation elections in-person during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The alternative is to conduct such elections by mail ballot. Most NLRB elections during the…