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Labor Relations / Unions

NLRB joint-employer rule blocked from taking effect

03/18/2024
A federal judge in Texas has vacated the National Labor Relations Board’s new joint-employer rule, calling it “arbitrary and capricious.”

Discouraging even one worker from complaining violates the NLRA

03/13/2024
The NLRA applies to just about every private-sector employer, setting strict rules for what employers can and cannot do when setting workplace rules. For example, it makes it illegal to tell employees not to discuss workplace conditions among themselves. However, until February, discussing work conditions had to involve at least two employees. Not anymore.

You can’t do that: Never ban employees from discussing pay

03/13/2024
Even though Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act has been the law for decades, a 2021 study from the Institute for Women’s Policy Research found nearly half of full-time employees have been prohibited or dissuaded from discussing or disclosing wages.

Labor lessons: Takeaways from 2023, a record-setting year for strikes

03/13/2024
There were 33 major strikes in 2023, according to new figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That’s the most in almost a quarter-century. It’s a sign that workers still believe they have the upper hand in an economy that has defied the odds and has not slipped into a recession.

Judge: NLRB joint-employer rule won’t go into effect until March 11 at the earliest

03/01/2024
A federal judge has put the National Labor Relations Board’s new joint-employer rule on hold until at least March 11. Reason: The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has sued to permanently strike down the rule. U.S. District Court Judge J. Campbell Barker of the Eastern District of Texas said he needed more time to consider the merits of the lawsuit.

Washington Watch: NLRB, OSHA in the news

02/23/2024
A constitutionality argument against the NLRB and OSHA’s new walkaround rule.

Nonunion workforce? How union rules could still trip you up

02/01/2024
The federal labor law can be a trap for the unwary—even for nonunion employers. Even if your employees don’t belong to a union, the National Labor Relations Act applies to you. Example: A nonunionized employer now has to pay $900,000 to two fired employees to settle charges that it violated the NLRA. To avoid similar trouble, you must understand this law!

This is how you respond to a group of employees organizing and forming a labor union

01/17/2024
How did Costco respond to a recent employee vote to unionize? Did it fire the organizers? Cut their hours? Trash-talk the union and its supporters? How about none of the above?

NLRB takes on SpaceX in retaliation case

01/12/2024
The National Labor Relations Board continues to exercise its power to regulate workplace conduct while enforcing the National Labor Relations Act. The NLRB just told SpaceX that it acted illegally when it fired eight employees for raising sexual harassment concerns. The case shows that increasingly, employees feel emboldened to speak out against what they perceive as management and CEO behavior that violates evolving workplace expectations of how business is supposed to run.

NLRB joint-employer rule effective date extended until Feb. 26

11/27/2023
The board extended the rule’s effective date to provide time to resolve legal challenges alleging that the rulemaking process violated the Congressional Review Act.