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Labor Relations / Unions

NLRB must backtrack on joint employment

03/01/2018

Browning-Ferris is back! The National Labor Relations Board on Feb. 26 vacated a December 2017 ruling—Hy-Brand Industrial Contractors—that overturned the controversial Browning-Ferris decision.

NLRB’s Emanuel under fire for conflict of interest

02/22/2018

National Labor Relations Board member William Emanuel should have recused himself from deliberations leading to the board’s December decision to overturn its 2015 Browning-Ferris ruling. That’s the conclusion of the NLRB’s inspector general.

DOL re-issues previously withdrawn wage-and-hour opinion letters

02/21/2018

The U.S. Department of Labor has reissued 17 previously withdrawn opinion letters concerning the Fair Labor Standards Act. Most were written during the George W. Bush administration.

Los Angeles Times unionizes, after management’s bad press

02/21/2018

On Jan. 4 this year, employees voted 248-44 in favor of joining NewsGuild, a union that represents more than 25,000 news workers across the country. Missteps by the Times’ parent company, Tronc Inc., may have tipped the vote toward unionization. 

NLRB: Anti-diversity Google engineer wasn’t illegally fired

02/21/2018

A National Labor Relations Board attorney recommended dismissing an unfair labor practices claim filed by a Google engineer who says he was illegally fired for stating that women are biologically unsuited for computer coding.

DOL launches internal probe: Was tip pool data suppressed?

02/13/2018

The Department of Labor’s Office of the Inspector General is investigating allegations that Labor Secretary Alex Acosta ordered DOL staffers to quash internal research showing that a proposed rule allowing tip pooling in the hospitality industry would cost employees $5.8 billion per year.

NLRB ready to abandon suit naming McDonald’s a joint employer

02/13/2018

With almost no fanfare, the National Labor Relations Board last month announced plans to seek a settlement with McDonald’s instead of continuing to pursue a three-year-old lawsuit that accused the fast-food chain of colluding with its franchisees to punish employees who protested for higher pay.

Robb wants to add NLRB appointees

01/30/2018

The National Labor Relations Board’s top attorney wants to add a new layer of management between headquarters staff in Washington and the NLRB’s 26 regional offices.

Industry alone may decide who DOL probes

01/25/2018

Even employers that scrupulously adhere to federal employment laws may have to contend with U.S. Department of Labor investigators. That’s because a particular employer’s conduct often has little to do with the DOL knocking on an employer’s door.

Penalties rise for employment law violations

01/18/2018

A two-year-old law requires the U.S. Department of Labor to adjust the level of employment law fines each year based on inflation.