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09 May 2014 NLRB General Counsel Expands Scope of Cases Where Board Will Seek 10(j) Relief

National Labor Relations Board | Keith Brodie

The NLRB’s General Counsel, Richard Griffin, issued a Memorandum recently discussing the NLRB’s stance on seeking injunctive relief under Section 10(j) of the NLRA.  Under Section 10(j), the NLRB can seek injunctive relief in federal district court to seek immediate redress and stop unfair labor practices.  Historically the NLRB has had the Regions focus on particular categories of cases which have been identified as appropriate for 10(j) relief.   The new Memorandum in many respects…

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08 May 2014 Timber! NLRB Cuts Down Another Employer Policy (this Time it is off-duty access)

National Labor Relations Board | Adam Bartrom

  A nursing home had a policy forbidding employees for hanging around after the end of their shift unless they had previous permission to be on the premises from a supervisor.  The Union alleged that two employees were denied access to the facility to assist with processing grievances.   The NLRB, upholding the decision of the ALJ, found the nursing home’s policy was unlawful.  While the Board acknowledged that an employer can generally prohibit off-duty…

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06 May 2014 Jesuit University Lacks “Substantial Religious Character”

National Labor Relations Board | Gerald Lutkus

  An NLRB Regional Director has determined that Seattle University “lacks substantial religious character” and is therefore subject to the jurisdiction of the NLRB.   In response to a petition from non-tenure-track adjunct professors seeking to organize, the University asserted that it was not subject to the NLRB’s jurisdiction because it was a religiously operated university.  The regional director disagreed finding that the University “is not a church-operated institution.”   The Regional Director based his…

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02 May 2014 Can Your Employees Use Your Company’s E-Mail System To Solicit Support For A Union? The NLRB Is Going To Weigh In…

Union Organizing | David Pryzbylski

  On April 30, 2014, the NLRB signaled it may overturn a 2007 Bush-Board decision, Register Guard, that generally allows employers to prohibit employees from using work e-mail systems for non-business purposes, including union organizing purposes. In a pending case in California involving allegations against employer Purple Communications, Inc., an Administrative Law Judge noted the NLRB’s decision in Register Guard and ruled Purple Communications did not violate the NLRA by having a policy that prohibited…

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01 May 2014 REVERBERATIONS FOR SEIU CONTINUE REGARDING MICHIGAN DECISION TO STOP FORCED UNIONIZATION OF HOME HEALTH CARE WORKERS

Unions and Union Membership | Keith Brodie

  As we earlier reported, in 2012, Michigan’s Governor Snyder reversed his predecessor Jennifer Granholm’s stance that home health care workers were to be deemed public employees and thus members of SEIU Healthcare Michigan by signing legislation excluding them from the definition of public employees under state law.  The position of Governor Granholm’s administration on this issue was highly criticized with many suggesting it smacked of political re-payment.   Now the numbers are in and…

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30 Apr 2014 NLRB To Include Hyperlinks In Notice Postings

National Labor Relations Board, Unions and Union Membership | David Pryzbylski

  Last week the NLRB granted a request by a Teamsters local union to modify the Board’s standard notice language in a case where the employer was found to have violated the NLRA. Specifically, the NLRB agreed to inform employees that a copy of the full decision and order is available on the Board’s website and to provide a direct “hyperlink” to the decision. The standard language previously did not inform employees where they could…

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29 Apr 2014 NLRB Continues To Impose Expansive Penalties On Employers

National Labor Relations Board | David Pryzbylski

Continuing its trend of issuing “non-traditional” Board remedies against employers who have been found to have violated the NLRA, the Board recently ordered an employer to reimburse a union for six months’ worth of “negotiating expenses”, which included salaries, travel expenses and per diems. The case involved a “first contract” so the NLRB further extended the certification year (which precludes the fling of any decertification petition by employees) by 12 months.   At issue in…

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24 Apr 2014 For Their Eyes Only: Northwestern to Limit Media Access at Union Polling Location

National Labor Relations Board, Union Organizing, Unions and Union Membership | Gerald Lutkus

  Northwestern University has confirmed that no media will be allowed in the vicinity of the polling place on Friday but will be allowed to gather nearby in the event any of the players choose to be interviewed.  The polls will be open from 6 to 7:30 a.m. and again from 10 a.m. until noon Friday.   The University said it will have no comment until the vote has concluded which is consistent with the…

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24 Apr 2014 NLRB Weekly Summary of Decisions, April 14 -18, 2014

National Labor Relations Board | John Koenig

  The Summary of NLRB decisions for the week of April 14 – 18, 2014 is now available on the NLRB’s website.     John KoenigJohn T.L. Koenig is a partner in the Labor & Employment Department of Barnes & Thornburg LLP. He maintains a national, full-service practice representing management exclusively in all aspects of labor and employment law.More Posts – Website

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23 Apr 2014 Northwestern Election Kicks Off This Friday

National Labor Relations Board, Union Organizing | Gerald Lutkus

    Northwestern’s scholarship football players are set for an historic vote this Friday on whether they wish to join a union and be represented by the College Athletes Players Association as their sole and exclusive bargaining representative.   Peter Sung Ohr, regional director of the National Labor Relations Board in Chicago, earlier this year, made the initial determination that the players who receive scholarship aid from the University are actually employees within the meaning…

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