The flurry of activity from National Labor Relations Board in late 2019 was a fairly consistent drum beat of good news for employers. In many cases, the Board restored decades of precedent that had been upended by the Board during the Obama administration. Some would say the Board restored order and sanity in the world
Unions
NLRB Issues Rule Repealing Key Components of Quickie Election Rules
By Adam Santucci on
Posted in Unions
If you follow our blog, you know that the National Labor Relations Board’s election rules have been a hot topic over the past several years. The Board’s election rules are critical, because time can often make a difference in whether a union election is won or lost.
In 2011, the Board started the process to…
NLRB (Mostly) Restores Employers’ Right to Restrict Use of Their Email Systems
By Micah T. Saul on
Posted in Unions
In 2014, the NLRB held in Purple Communications that employers must allow their employees to use company email systems to engage in union activities and other protected conduct under the National Labor Relations Act. Last year, we reported that the NLRB was set to re-examine the controversial Purple Communications decision. The Board did just that…
National Labor Relations Board Issues New Proposed Rules
By Adam Santucci on
Posted in Unions
On August 9, 2019, the National Labor Relations Board announced a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking. The Notice, which was issued on August 12, 2019, covers three proposed rules. A majority of the Board is proposing to change the Blocking Charge Policy, the Voluntary Recognition Bar and rules governing union recognition in the construction industry.
The…
NLRB Continues on an Employer-Friendly Roll
In a case that started back in February of 2013 – when Security called 9-1-1 and had police escort non-employee union organizers out of the employer’s cafeteria – the Board “modified” decades of its own precedent. Sort of.
Some background. The National Labor Relations Act requires that employers refrain from interference, discrimination, restraint or coercion…
NLRB Reinstates Test for Examining Whether Employee Activity is “Concerted” Under NLRA
By Adam Santucci on
Posted in Unions
Have you ever felt that reading the decisions of the National Labor Relations Board is a lot like watching a tennis match? The decisions on key workplace issues go back and forth, back and forth, and you are just stuck watching. The good news, at least, is that lately, employers have been holding serve. Recently,…
Major Considerations for Public Sector Union Contract Negotiations
By Adam Santucci on
Posted in Public Employers, Unions
As stewards of taxpayer dollars, there are many details that public sector employers must consider when negotiating collective bargaining agreements with their unionized employees. What are the phases of the collective bargaining process? Should outside counsel be engaged for some or all of these phases? How many bargaining sessions will be conducted? What happens after…
Court Holds Union Membership ‘Worthy of Constitutional Protection’
By Adam Santucci on
Posted in Public Employers, Unions
The Third Circuit Court of Appeals, the appeals court that has jurisdiction over federal cases in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware and the U. S. Virgin Islands, recently held that a public employer violates the First Amendment of the United State Constitution when it retaliates against an employee based on the employee’s union membership. In reaching…
NLRB’s Position on Unions’ Right to Use Employers’ Email Could Change
By Micah T. Saul on
Posted in Unions
Another Obama-era National Labor Relations Board policy may be on the ropes. Four years ago, the Board issued its controversial Purple Communications decision. In that case, it determined that employees have the right to use employers’ email systems to unionize and engage in other activities protected under the National Labor Relations Act. You can access…
Supreme Court Rules Fair Share Fees are Unconstitutional
By Langdon Ramsburg, Adam Santucci & Jen Will on
This morning the Supreme Court issued its long-awaited opinion in Janus v. AFCSME , holding that requiring public sector employees to pay fair share fees to unions violates the First Amendment. As we discussed in our prior posts , a fair share fee (sometimes called an agency fee) is a fee that non-union members must…