July 17, 2024
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Category: Labor Relations

Fifth Circuit Rules NLRB Erred in Changing Employee Misconduct Standard

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit has ruled that the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) violated an employer’s due process rights by reinstating a worker-friendly misconduct standard without giving the employer an opportunity to express its views. The court’s July 9 ruling in Lion Elastomers, L.L.C. v. NLRB ordered the NLRB to set aside a standard that considered...
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June 19, 2024
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Category: Labor Relations

Supreme Court Makes It Harder for NLRB To Get Preliminary Injunctions To Correct Alleged ULPs

The National Labor Relations Board has not shown the need for a preliminary injunction ordering Starbucks to rehire employees while the Board proceeds with its administrative complaint alleging an unfair labor practice against the coffeehouse chain, the U.S. Supreme Court decided June 13, 2024, in Starbucks Corporation v. McKinney. The Supreme Court held that courts should analyze the NLRB’s petitions...
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May 30, 2024
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Category: Biden Administration

Biden Nominates Two for NLRB Seats, Ensuring Pro-Union Tilt Until 2026 If Confirmed by Senate

President Joe Biden has submitted two nominations for seats on the five-member National Labor Relations Board, one a Democrat and the other a Republican. The nominees are current Chair Lauren McFerran, a Democrat, to serve a third five-year term; and Republican Joshua L. Ditelberg, an employment law partner at Seyfarth Shaw, to fill a current Board vacancy. If the U.S. Senate...
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March 12, 2024
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Category: Contingent Workers and Joint Employment

Federal Court Blocks Controversial NLRB Joint Employer Rule, Reinstates Trump-Era Rule

A federal trial court has vacated the controversial new National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) joint employer rule and restored the 2020 version of the rule that made it harder to find that an entity is a joint employer. If the new rule had taken effect as scheduled March 11, 2024, it would have been much easier to find that two...
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February 12, 2024
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Category: Labor Relations

Constitutionality of the National Labor Relations Board Challenged in Recent Litigation

Even though the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB or Board) has been around for almost 90 years, two companies are now pursuing litigation questioning the agency’s constitutionality. The National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) created the NLRB in 1935, and the Board has issued thousands of administrative rulings since then. Nevertheless, SpaceX and Trader Joe’s are challenging the Board’s very constitutionality...
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January 23, 2024
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Category: DOL

Labor Department Proposes Major Revisions to “Registered Apprenticeship Program”

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) proposed significant revisions to its Depression-era registered apprenticeship program in a proposed rule published January 17, 2024, in the Federal Register. The proposal would add numerous provisions intended to bolster workforce protections for apprentices and enhance workforce diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA). Critics claim that the proposal would add bureaucracy and discourage participation by employers...
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January 23, 2024
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Category: Labor Relations

D.C. Circuit Affirms NLRB Ruling That T-Mobile Operated an Illegal Company Union

Wireless telecommunications carrier T-Mobile established an illegal company union that must be dissolved, a divided appeals court panel ruled January 12, 2024. T-Voice, a worker feedback program created by T-Mobile, fit the definition of a labor organization under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), a panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia held. The panel...
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January 08, 2024
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Category: Executive Order

FAR Council Issues Final Rule Implementing 2022 Biden PLA Executive Order

The Federal Acquisition Regulatory (FAR) Council has issued a final rule directing federal agency contracting officers to insert a project labor agreement (PLA) requirement into most solicitations or prime contracts that will cost the government at least $35 million. The rule implements a 2022 Executive Order (E.O. 14063) from President Biden that essentially mandates the use of union labor on...
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December 18, 2023
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Category: Biden Administration

President Biden Adds Global Labor Rights to His Pro-Union Action Plan

President Biden has launched another initiative to advance labor union rights, this time from a global perspective. In a memorandum entitled “Advancing Worker Empowerment, Rights, and High Labor Standards Globally,” President Biden directed executive branch agencies “to pursue a whole-of-government approach to advancing worker empowerment and organizing, workers’ rights, and labor standards globally.” The memorandum has no immediate impact on...
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December 07, 2023
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Category: Labor Relations

Fifth Circuit Reverses Biden-Era NLRB Ruling on Tesla’s “Team Wear” Policy

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit has overturned a ruling from the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) finding that a team-wear policy of non-union automaker Tesla violated federal labor law. Tesla’s policy required employees to wear t-shirts emblazoned with the company logo. It allowed employees to wear stickers with union insignia on the shirts, but it did...
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