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19 Jul 2017 NLRB Rolls Snake Eyes Before D.C. Circuit

National Labor Relations Board | Gerald Lutkus

  The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit recently dealt casinos  a winning hand by overturning a ruling of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). This time the court determined the NLRB  incorrectly included surveillance techs at the Bellagio and Mirage Hotels as members of a larger unit seeking representation  by the International Association of Operating Engineers.   In a split decision, the court determined that the surveillance techs who control the casinos’…

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18 Jul 2017 NLRB’s Controversial Joint-Employer Standard in House Appropriations Committee’s Crosshairs

National Labor Relations Board | Anthony Glenn

  The NLRB’s controversial 2015 Browning-Ferris decision greatly expanding the definition of “joint-employer” to include those employers who exert only indirect control over employees may not be around much longer, as House Republicans are attempting to use the power of the purse to rein in the Board.   On July 13, the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education voted to approve a draft spending bill for fiscal year 2018 that…

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17 Jul 2017 Affirmed: Wisconsin’s Right-to-Work Law Latest to Withstand Judicial Scrutiny

State Labor Laws | David Pryzbylski

  More than half the states in the nation now have right-to-work laws in place. Wisconsin was one of the more recent states to enact such legislation, and, as often is the case, it was met with much resistance by labor unions, including judicial challenges. A federal lawsuit filed by affiliates of the International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE) arguing that the law, among other things, violated the U.S. Constitution was struck down by a…

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13 Jul 2017 Summary of NLRB Decisions for Week of June 26 – 30

National Labor Relations Board | btlabor

  Summarized Board Decisions   Southcoast Hospitals Group, Inc.  (01-CA-150261; 365 NLRB No. 100)  Wareham, MA, June 28, 2017.   The Board adopted the Administrative Law Judge’s conclusion that the Respondent violated Section 8(a)(5) and (1) by failing and refusing to provide the Union with requested information.  The Board also adopted the judge’s conclusion that the Respondent violated Section 8(a)(5) and (1) by unilaterally implementing its final offer without having reached a valid impasse.  In…

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12 Jul 2017 Playing Hardball – NLRB Holds High School Lacrosse Referees Are Employees, Not Independent Contractors

National Labor Relations Board | Keith Brodie

  On July 11, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) held that junior high and high school lacrosse referees that provided their services through the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association (PIAA) were statutory employees under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) and not independent contractors. The NLRB’s decision clears the way for negotiations between the represented referees and the PIAA based on a vote that favored the union. It also makes way for union organizing for…

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11 Jul 2017 If At First You Don’t Succeed, Try, Try, Try Again: UAW Files Petition for Union Vote at Nissan

Union Organizing | David Pryzbylski

  For years the United Autoworkers Union (UAW) has attempted to organize foreign auto manufacturers in the U.S., but its efforts have largely failed. Indeed, while the UAW continues to represent most production and maintenance workers at the big American car companies’ sites in this country, the union has failed to gain any strongholds within its Japanese counterparts, despite constant efforts over the years.   Now, the UAW is trying again. It was recently announced…

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10 Jul 2017 Department of Labor Aims to Rescind ‘Persuader Rule’; Comments Due Aug. 11

Department of Labor | btlabor

  Last month, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) submitted a notice of proposed rulemaking intended to rescind what is known as the “persuader rule.” We previously reported that the persuader rule, which was first published in 2016 during the Obama administration, was controversial and had been tied up in litigation for months; at the end of 2016, a federal court stopped it from being enacted. The rule would have required employers to publicly disclose…

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07 Jul 2017 Eighth Circuit Sides With Jimmy John’s and Finds Employee Actions Were Not Protected Activity

National Labor Relations Board | btlabor

  The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit found on July 3 that employees of a Jimmy John’s franchisee made false and calculated accusations that were intended to hurt the business interest of their employer, rather than to encourage change in workplace policies. The ruling reverses an NLRB decision and an initial verdict by an Eighth Circuit panel.   In 2010, the Jimmy John’s Workers Union, an affiliation of the Industrial Workers of…

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30 Jun 2017 Summary of NLRB Decisions for Week of June 12 – 16

National Labor Relations Board | btlabor

  Summarized Board Decisions   United States Postal Service  (07-CA-145159 and 07-CA-159684; 365 NLRB No. 92)  Detroit, MI, June 12, 2017.   The Board adopted the Administrative Law Judge’s conclusions that the Respondent violated Section 8(a)(5) and (1) by unreasonably delaying furnishing information about light-duty employees’ work restrictions, unreasonably delaying furnishing information used to establish a seniority list, and refusing to furnish information regarding how it compiled another seniority list.  In adopting the judge’s finding…

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29 Jun 2017 An Unlikely Union: Labor Leaders Join Trump In Seeking Changes to NAFTA

Labor Agreements | David Pryzbylski

  President Trump announced earlier this year that his administration will be seeking to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). The president heavily criticized the longstanding trade deal during his campaign, so this came as little surprise. American labor unions also have been critical of NAFTA over the years due to perceived negative impact on American jobs and actively lobbied against its passage back in the ‘90s. While organized labor by and large tends…

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