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Category: Labor Relations

President Trump Fires NLRB Member Wilcox, General Counsel Abruzzo

President Trump has fired two Senate-confirmed Democrats from the National Labor Relations Board: Member and former Chair Gwynne Wilcox; and the Board’s General Counsel, Jennifer Abruzzo. Wilcox’s termination is controversial because the National Labor Relations Act states that the President may remove Board Members only for neglect of duty or malfeasance. Wilcox’s term was not scheduled to end until August 2028. She...
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Category: Agency Enforcement

President Trump Designates New Leadership at Workplace Compliance Agencies

President Trump has moved quickly to install new leadership at agencies responsible for workplace compliance. He has already designated new officials at the EEOC, where he named Republican Commissioner Andrea Lucas to serve as Acting Chair, and at the NLRB, where he designated Republican Marvin Kaplan to serve as Chairman. At the Labor Department, he designated career official Vince Micone...
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Category: Agency Enforcement

NLRB Again Reports Big Increase in Unfair Labor Practice Charges in FY 2024

The number of unfair labor practice charges filed with the National Labor Relations Board increased for the fourth consecutive year in fiscal year 2024, NLRB enforcement data show. The 21,300 ULP charges filed from October 1, 2023—September 30, 2024, are the highest number filed since FY 2016. The Board made 259 final administrative determinations in FY 2024, up from 246...
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Category: Agency Enforcement

DOL and NLRB Commit To Further Assist Antitrust Agencies in Merger Investigations

The Department of Labor (DOL) and the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the government’s antitrust enforcement agencies, committing to share information that could help in investigations of allegedly anticompetitive merger acquisitions. The MOU with the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), formally called the Memorandum of Understanding on...
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Category: Labor Relations

NLRB Update: August 2024

There have been several important developments recently involving the National Labor Relations Board: (1) On July 26, 2024, the Board issued its Fair Choice–Employee Voice Final Rule, which restored three policies that the Trump-era Board had scuttled— the blocking charge policy, voluntary union recognition, and parity for construction industry unions. (2) The NLRB dropped its appeal of a court ruling that invalidated...
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Category: Appropriations

Best Case Scenario for EEOC, OFCCP in FY 2025 May Be Flat Funding

As Congress moves forward with setting federal government funding levels for fiscal year 2025, it seems increasingly likely that workforce enforcement agencies will be funded at current FY 2024 levels. These agencies include the Labor Department’s (DOL) Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP), the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), and the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). FY 2025...
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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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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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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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Category: Appropriations

Congress Flat Funds OFCCP, NLRB and Other Workplace Regulators for Rest of FY 2024

Congress and the White House have finally reached a spending deal, six months after the government’s 2024 fiscal year began, with the approval of the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2024 (H.R. 2882). This legislation funds a large portion of the government—including the Department of Labor (DOL) and the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB)—through September 30, 2024. It follows an earlier...

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