The Supreme Court of the United States recently unanimously ruled against the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) in Starbucks Corp. v. McKinney. The decision reversed the NLRB’s attempt to change the standard for evaluating the right to injunctive relief, and requires courts to analyze four factors before issuing a preliminary injunction to restrict
Unions
Policing Social Media Posts – PA Appellate Court Prohibits Reinstatement of Kutztown University Police Officer
By Conner Porterfield on
On May 1, 2024, the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court vacated an arbitration award involving the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education Officers Association (“Association”) and a former University police officer who was fired due to offensive social media posts. In 2021, several anonymous University students (known as the “Activists”) submitted screenshots of the Police Officer’s social…
Janus Holding Does Not Relieve Public Sector Employees of Contractual Obligations to Pay Dues
By Adam Santucci on
Posted in Public Employers, Unions
Way back in 2018, we wrote about the Supreme Court of the United States’ decision in Janus, which held that compelling public sector employees to pay “fair share fees” to unions violates the First Amendment. As a refresher, a fair share fee is a fee that non-union members must pay to the union to…
Just When You Thought You Were All Zippered Up . . .The NLRB Issues a New Decision on Zipper Clauses
By Jen Will on
Posted in Unions, Workplace Trends
If you are gearing up for union negotiations in 2024, do not miss the opportunity to review current and past practices that may not have been incorporated into expiring collective bargaining agreements. Trust me, it will be worth the effort to dig up and review all of the side letters, settlements and memoranda of agreement…
NLRB Grants Labor Unions Superpowers in Organizing. Is it Game over for Employers?
By Andrew L. Levy & Adam Santucci on
Posted in Unions
The National Labor Relations Board issued a groundbreaking decision in Cemex Construction Materials Pacific, LLC that will likely leave employers reeling. The Board cast aside over 50 years of established law, and created a new standard that will further tilt the playing field in favor of labor unions in the union election process. The new…
The Supreme Court Sides with Employers on the Right to Sue Unions
By Conner Porterfield & Adam Santucci on
Posted in Unions
On June 1, 2023, the United States Supreme Court held that a company could sue a union over intentional damage caused during a labor dispute. In Glacier Northwest v. International Brotherhood of Teamsters Loc. Union No. 174, a concrete company, Glacier Northwest, alleged that the Union intentionally destroyed company property during a strike. Specifically,…
When Assessing the Propriety of Employee Discipline, One Size No Longer Fits All
By Micah T. Saul on
Posted in Employer Liability, Unions
Now more than ever, it seems that employees are willing to express themselves. While open communication with and among employees is usually a good thing, sometimes an employer’s rules are broken in the process. A worker might call her supervisor a nasty name while complaining about her production team’s overtime assignments. An employee could use…
NLRB Holds Employers Must Continue Dues Checkoff After Expiration of Collective Bargaining Agreement
By Bill Boak on
Posted in Employer Liability, Unions
In Valley Hospital Medical Center, 371 NLRB No. 160 (Sept. 30, 2022) (Valley Hospital II), a divided National Labor Relations Board held that employers must continue to deduct union dues from employees’ pay and remit such dues to their union – a process known as “dues checkoff” – even after the expiration of…
Tesla Violates Federal Labor Law with “Work Shirts” Rule
By Gregory Archibald on
The National Labor Relations Board has held that Telsa must allow employees to wear shirts with a union insignia while on the job. The decision is certainly a learning opportunity for employers and a strong signal of the approach to these issues likely to be taken by the Biden Board. Let’s look at the facts.…
NLRB Issues Proposed Rule for Determining Joint-Employer Status
By Adam Santucci & Bill Boak on
Posted in Unions
Whether two entities are “joint employers” is an important question under the National Labor Relations Act. Consider Company A, which contracts with Company B, a staffing company, to provide maintenance or other services at Company A’s facility. The maintenance workers are employed directly by Company B. While working at Company A’s facility, Company B’s employees…