As featured in #WorkforceWednesday: This week, we look at labor law and pay developments from the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) and in California.
As featured in #WorkforceWednesday: This week, we’re looking at how employment laws and regulations are being impacted by the Biden administration’s recent actions on the international and national stages.
As featured in #WorkforceWednesday: This week, we look at the potential “game changing” legal and policy shifts coming to labor relations.
The Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act, if enacted, would make the most significant changes to the National Labor Relations Act since the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) was created in 1935. The PRO Act is a top priority of the union movement in the United States and is supported by President Biden, who claims to be the most pro-union president in U.S. history. Attorney Steve Swirsky discusses the potential impact the PRO Act ...
As featured in #WorkforceWednesday: This week, we look at the increase in mandatory vaccination policies, a new rule for tipped workers, and a Supreme Court decision against organized labor.
Employers Implement Mandatory Vaccination Policies
Mandatory vaccine policies are on the rise. A month after the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission released updated guidance on mandatory vaccination policies, an increasing number of employers have started introducing these mandates. Courts are also weighing in—a Texas District Court recently affirmed a hospital’s ...
As featured in #WorkforceWednesday: This week, we look at the return to Obama-era employment and labor policies, with a key difference: unionization.
A post on the Management Memo blog will be of interest to many of our readers: "Coronavirus Considerations for Employers with a Unionized Workforce," by attorneys Adam S. Forman, Michael S. Ferrell, Steven M. Swirsky, and Elizabeth "Libby" Martin of Epstein Becker Green.
Following is an excerpt:
As we have discussed in prior Advisories, the 2019 Novel Coronavirus (“Coronavirus” or “COVID-19”) public health emergency is raising important issues for employers addressing rapidly developing disruptions to the workplace and the lives of employees with mass school ...
A Trending News interview with our colleague Michael Ferrell of Epstein Becker Green, as featured in #WorkforceWednesday. As Mike discusses, Kickstarter employees voted to unionize last week. This is the first big unionization in the technology industry, and it could signal more union activity to come.
In the new issue of Take 5, our colleagues examine five employment, labor, and workforce management issues that will continue to be reviewed and remain top of mind for employers under the Trump administration:
Read the full Take 5 online or download ...In the new issue of Take 5, our colleagues examine five employment, labor, and workforce management issues that will continue to be reviewed and remain top of mind for employers under the Trump administration:
Read the full Take 5 online or download ...In the new issue of Take 5, our colleagues examine five employment, labor, and workforce management issues that will continue to be reviewed and remain top of mind for employers under the Trump administration:
Read the full Take 5 online or download ...In the new issue of Take 5, our colleagues examine five employment, labor, and workforce management issues that will continue to be reviewed and remain top of mind for employers under the Trump administration:
Read the full Take 5 online or download ...On Epstein Becker Green’s OSHA Law Update blog, Eric Conn reviews the agreement between the NLRB and OSHA, which allows employees to file out-of-date safety related whistleblower claims to be filed with the NLRB.
Following is an excerpt from the blog post:
On May 21, 2014, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) published a memorandum discussing a new agreement between NLRB and OSHA regarding a backdoor route for employees to file safety related whistleblower claims that are too stale to be filed with OSHA. The NLRB memo directs OSHA representatives to “notify all complainants ...
As expected, the last day of the Supreme Court’s term proved to be an incendiary one with the recent spirit of Court unanimity broken by two 5-4 decisions in highly-controversial cases. The media and various interest groups already are reporting the results and, as often is the case in cause-oriented litigation, they are not entirely accurate in their analyses of either opinion.
In Harris v. Quinn, the conservative majority of the Court, in an opinion written by Justice Alito, held that an Illinois regulatory program that required quasi-public health care ...
Our colleague Stuart Gerson of Epstein Becker Green has a new post on the Supreme Court’s recent decisions: “Divided Supreme Court Issues Decisions on Harris and Hobby Lobby.”
Following is an excerpt:
As expected, the last day of the Supreme Court’s term proved to be an incendiary one with the recent spirit of Court unanimity broken by two 5-4 decisions in highly-controversial cases. The media and various interest groups already are reporting the results and, as often is the case in cause-oriented litigation, they are not entirely accurate in their analyses of either ...
Our colleague Stuart Gerson of Epstein Becker Green has a new post on the Supreme Court’s recent decisions: “Divided Supreme Court Issues Decisions on Harris and Hobby Lobby.”
Following is an excerpt:
As expected, the last day of the Supreme Court’s term proved to be an incendiary one with the recent spirit of Court unanimity broken by two 5-4 decisions in highly-controversial cases. The media and various interest groups already are reporting the results and, as often is the case in cause-oriented litigation, they are not entirely accurate in their analyses of either ...
For 2 days, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) heard from speakers on its proposed rules to accelerate the processing of union representation petitions and quicken the timing of elections. The speakers ranged from several labor unions, including the UFCW, SEIU, CWA and AFL-CIO as well as a number of trade associations, including National Federation of Independent Businesses, Coalition for a Democratic Workplace, National Association of Manufacturers, U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and EBG client, National Grocers Association (NGA). The positions of the parties were ...
Our colleague Kara Maciel will speak on behalf of EBG client, National Grocers Association (“NGA”), at the National Labor Relations Board’s public meeting, scheduled for April 10-11, 2014 regarding the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (“NPRM”) on the “ambush election” representation procedures.
The panels will address the following topics:
- Panel B.2: Requirement for written statement of position
Address issues related to the proposed requirement for a written statement of position. - Panel E.1 & E.3: Election date
Please describe the standard to be applied for ...
By Steven M. Swirsky, Adam C. Abrahms, Kara M. Maciel and Casey M. Cosentino
As previously predicted by the Management Memo on August 1, 2013 and October 30, 2013, the National Labor Relations Board (the “Board”) issued a second Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (“NPRM”) to amend its existing rules and regulations governing union elections procedures. If they look familiar when you see them, there is a good reason for that: you have seen them before.
As readers of the Management Memo are well aware, the NPRM is the latest development in the long saga of organized labor’s attempts ...
In a recent Law360 article, "NLRB Social Media Push Looms Large for Hospitality Sector" (subscription required), our colleague Mark Trapp comments on the importance for unionized and non-unionized hospitality employers to review their social media policies.
Following is an excerpt:
With the National Labor Relations Board increasingly interjecting into non-union issues, hotels, restaurants and other labor-intensive hospitality companies need to brace for potential claims and tread carefully when crafting social media policies for employees, experts say.
Over the last ...
Our Epstein Becker Green colleagues have posted an NLRB update on the Management Memo blog: “Impact of Government Shutdown on NLRB, Part II: Some Proceedings Delayed Indefinitely, Extensions to Serve and File Documents Granted, New Charges Must Be Filed Within Six Months,” by Steven M. Swirsky, Adam C. Abrahms, and D. Martin Stanberry.
Following is an excerpt:
On Monday October 1, 2013, the Board published a Notice in the Federal Register to the NLRB’s website that supplements the effects of the Contingency Plan that we examined at outset of the government shutdown and NLRB ...
We recommend this post that was recently published on October 1st, 2013 on the Management Memo blog: “Government Shutdown “Closes” NLRB: 1600 of 1611 Employees Furloughed,” by Steven M. Swirsky, Adam C. Abrahms, and D. Martin Stanberry, our colleagues at Epstein Becker Green.
Following is an excerpt:
The shutdown of the federal government that took effect at 12:01 a.m. Tuesday October 1st has shut down all non-essential operations of the US government, including those of the National Labor Relations Board (Board or NLRB).
A post on our colleagues' Management Memo blog will be of interest to hospitality employers: "The Senate Has Confirmed a 'Full' 5 Member NLRB That Includes 3 Union Lawyers – Are You Ready?" by Adam C. Abrahms and Steven M. Swirsky of Epstein Becker Green.
Following is an excerpt:
On July 30th the Senate confirmed career union lawyer Kent Hirozawa (D) and retired AFL-CIO Associate General Counsel Nancy Schiffer (D) as well as seasoned management labor lawyers Philip Miscimarra (R) and Harry Johnson (R) to serve on the National Labor Relations Board. The Senate also confirmed ...
By Adam C. Abrahms and Steven M. Swirsky
In another major defeat for President Obama’s appointees to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB or Board), the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit found that the Board lacked the authority to issue a 2011 rule which would have required all employers covered by the National Labor Relations Act (the “Act”), including those whose employees are not unionized, to post a workplace notice to employees. The putative Notice, called a “Notification of Employee Rights Under the National Labor Relations Act,” is intended to ostensibly ...
by: Adam C. Abrahms, James S. Frank, Kara M. Maciel, and Steven M. Swirsky
President Obama has taken action designed to bolster the National Labor Relations Board’s continuing move to bolster unions and take the National Labor Relations Act further into non-union workplaces. On April 9, 2013, President Obama announced his plan to submit three more nominees to serve the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”). If these and the two other pending nominations are confirmed this would bring the NLRB to its full complement of five Members.
These new nominations – who must be ...
Allen B. Roberts, a Member of Firm in the Labor and Employment practice and co-chair of the firm’s Whistleblowing and Compliance Subpractice Group, in the New York office, wrote an article titled “Impact: Employers Brace for Change – Top 5 Issues Facing Businesses, as appeared in Insurance Advocate.”
Following is an excerpt:
By popular account, the Affordable Care Act (“ACA”) would preserve the base of insureds and extend health insurance coverage to as many as another 32 million Americans. That estimate could be wrong if ACA disrupts patterns and experience of spouse ...
By: Allen B. Roberts
I wrote the February 2013 version of Take 5 Views You Can Use, a newsletter published by the Labor and Employment practice of Epstein Becker Green. In it, I discuss an alternative view of five topics that are likely to impact hospitality employers in 2013 and beyond. One topic involved the potential for labor organizing by pop-up unions in break-out units.
Despite some perceptions of cohesiveness and political acumen, influence and wherewithal following the 2012 election cycle, labor unions represent only about 7.3 percent of the private sector ...
On Friday, November 16, I participated in a free 75-minute webinar discussion with Lafe E. Solomon, Acting General Counsel of the National Labor Relations Board. The webinar was moderated by Terence H. McGuire of the Practical Law Company. We discussed:
- Factors that the NLRB considers when deciding whether to prosecute unfair labor practices based on these employment practices.
- Legal considerations surrounding these employment practices besides compliance with the National Labor Relations Act.
- The NLRB’s stance on what is and is not a lawful at will ...
By: Steven M. Swirsky, Adam C. Abrahms, Donald S. Krueger, and D. Martin Stanberry
In another foray by the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB” or the “Board”) into new territory affecting non-union workplaces, a divided three-member Board panel found that an employer’s direction that employees not discuss matters under investigation with their co-workers violated Section 8(a)(1) of the National Labor Relations Act (the “Act”) because it “had a reasonable tendency to coerce employees in the exercise of their rights” under the Act. Banner Health ...
By Matthew Sorensen and Dana Livne
One of the major ways in which American employment law has traditionally differed from its British counterpart has been its entrenched employment “at-will” doctrine. The “at-will” employment doctrine provides employers with the right to terminate their relationships with their employees at any time, with or without notice or cause. UK companies doing business in the US are often relieved to be advised that they become “at-will” employers to their US-based employees. In the US, unless an employer has entered an employment contract ...
Continuing its effort to “outreach” to non-union employees and educate them on their rights under the National Labor Relations Act, the NLRB has launched a new webpage on Concerted Activity. The NLRB’s announcement of its new webpage made clear the page is designed to inform employees of their rights “even if they are not in a union.”
The webpage, in addition to giving basic descriptions of concerted activities, asserts that “The law we enforce gives employees the right to act together to try to improve their pay and working conditions or fix job-related ...
We are pleased to announce that “Preparing for Non-Compete Litigation,” a guide published by The Practical Law Company and authored by EpsteinBeckerGreen’s Peter A. Steinmeyer and Zachary C. Jackson, is now available in PDF format. The guide is a valuable discussion of the primary considerations for employers seeking to initiate legal action to enforce a non-compete agreement.
By: Kara Maciel
On March 15, 2012, the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) had temporarily postponed compliance with the 2010 ADA Standards as it relates to providing accessible entries and exits to pools and spas. That day was set to expire later this month, on May 21, 2012, but the DOJ has announced that it will extend that compliance date to January 31, 2013 – a nine month extension from the original compliance date of March 15, 2012.
This extension to January 31, 2013, however, does not change the substance of the DOJ’s requirement that lifts be “fixed.” The DOJ failed to ...
By: Jay P. Krupin and Dana Livne
Historically, the United States has continuously attracted international commerce and investment. In recent years, in spite of a challenging economic situation, international hospitality groups continue to seek opportunities in the US for financial growth, promotion, and strategic reasons. When they do so, they must comply with unfamiliar and complex labor and employment laws which are constantly changing. In the US especially, the increasingly litigious environment can affect every step of the enterprise – right from the start ...
By: Paul Rosenberg
As described in our blog on January 5, 2012, the National Labor Relations Board’s (“NLRB”) new rules governing union elections introduce a host of changes which will place employers at a disadvantage. The new rules will go into effect on April 30, 2012, subject to a legal challenge pending in federal court. However, they are seemingly just the beginning of the NLRB’s concerted effort to drastically change a process which has been in place for several decades. A recent decision ignoring 75 years of precedence is illustrative.
Arbitration agreements can be an effective way for employers in the hospitality industry to streamline and isolate an employee’s potential claims on an individual basis and protect themselves from a proliferation of lawsuits with many plaintiffs or claimants. But the National Labor Relations Board’s (“Board”) January 6, 2012 decision in D.R. Horton, Inc. and Michael Cuda, notably finalized by two Board Members on departing Member Craig Becker’s final day, has caused significant confusion as to how employers can enforce such arbitration ...
By: Ana S. Salper
No governmental body has been more active in addressing social media’s impact on the workplace than the National Labor Relations Board (“Board”). For both unionized and non-unionized employers, the Board has been aggressively scrutinizing the contours of employer discipline of employees for their activities on social media sites, and has regulated and constricted the scope and breadth of employer social media policies. Following his first report in August 2011, National Labor Relations Board Acting General Counsel Lafe Solomon has now released a ...
By: Evan Rosen
As Hospitalty Labor and Employment Law Blog readers are aware, on August 30, 2011, the National Labor Relations Board (the “Board”) issued a rule requiring employers to post notices informing employees of their right to join or form a union. We blogged about the impact of the notice and its requirements on hospitality employers here. The rule was originally supposed to go into effect in November, but was subsequently pushed back to January 31, 2012 as a result of mounting criticism against the rule. Indeed, several lawsuits have been filed by business ...
by: Matthew Sorensen
1. Deadline For Compliance With New ADA Accessibility Rules Approaching:
On March 15, 2012, hospitality establishments will be required to be in compliance with the standards for accessibility set by the Department of Justice’s final regulations under Title III of the ADA (2010 ADA Standards). The regulations made significant changes to the requirements for accessible facilities, and will require additional training of staff on updated policies and procedures in response to inquiries from guests with disabilities. Among the most significant ...
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