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05 Aug 2014 NLRB Shoots Down Another Confidentiality Rule

National Labor Relations Board | Keith Brodie

  Much to the chagrin of employers, the NLRB continues to parse employer policies and rules. In its July 31, 2014 decision, Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Markets, 361 NLRB No. 8, the NLRB found that the employer’s “confidentiality and data protection” rules violated employees’ Section 7 rights. The rule in question stated:   “Keep customer and employee information secure.  Information must be used fairly, lawfully and only for the purpose for which it was obtained.”…

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04 Aug 2014 NLRB Ratifies All Administrative Actions in Wake of Noel Canning Decision

National Labor Relations Board | Gerald Lutkus

The NLRB announced today that on July 18, 2014, it unanimously ratified all administrative, personnel and procurement matters taken by the Board from January 4, 2012, to August 5, 2013. That covers the time period when the Board did not have a lawful quorum per the United States Supreme Court decision in NLRB v. Noel Canning. This decision covers only actions such as the appointment of certain Regional Directors, Administrative Law Judges and restructurings of…

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01 Aug 2014 Obama’s New Executive Order Requires Contractors to Disclose Labor Violations

Federal Laws and Legislation | Adam Bartrom

  On Thursday, President Obama signed the “Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces Executive Order” which mandates that federal contractors disclose recent labor violations.  More specifically, any company that is attempting to obtain a federal contract for more than $500,000 must first disclose all of its labor law violations (state and federal) for the previous three years. “Labor violations” is a widely cast net which includes violations of rules regarding civil rights, wage and hour, collective…

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31 Jul 2014 NLRB WEEKLY SUMMARY OF DECISIONS, July 21-25, 2014

National Labor Relations Board | Keith Brodie

  The Summary of NLRB decisions for the week of July 21-25, 2014, is now available on the NLRB’s website.       Keith BrodieKeith J. Brodie is a partner in Barnes & Thornburg LLP’s Grand Rapids, Michigan office. He devotes his practice exclusively to labor and employment law. He is a practitioner and counselor to his clients on labor matters including collective bargaining, union organizing, NLRB unfair labor practice charge defense, and labor strategies for…

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28 Jul 2014 INDIANA COURT LACKS JURISDICTION OVER EMPLOYEE’S THREAT

Federal Laws and Legislation, Labor Agreements | Gerald Lutkus

When does a threat to blow your supervisor’s head off fall outside the scope of a state court’s jurisdiction? Apparently, when you are employed in Indiana.   The Indiana Court of Appeals recently vacated an injunction entered against an employee under Indiana’s Workforce Violence Restraining Orders Act finding that the employee’s threat against his supervisor actually arose out of a “labor dispute” with his employer.   According to the Court’s opinion, the issue surfaced after…

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25 Jul 2014 Strike Two for Right-to-Work Statute in Indiana

State Labor Laws | Steve Hernandez

  For the second time in less than a year,  a state-court judge in Indiana has ruled Indiana’s right-to-work statute, which went into effect in 2012 and prohibits compulsory union dues, unlawful.  While a previous state-court ruling against the right-to-work statute, issued last September, was stayed by the deciding judge, Judge Paras of Lake County Circuit Court ruled on July 24, 2014 that the statute was unlawful and that his ruling should take effect immediately. …

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23 Jul 2014 NLRB WEEKLY SUMMARY OF DECISIONS, July 14-18

National Labor Relations Board | Keith Brodie

  The Summary of NLRB decisions for the week of July 14-18, 2014, is now available on the NLRB’s website.   Keith BrodieKeith J. Brodie is a partner in Barnes & Thornburg LLP’s Grand Rapids, Michigan office. He devotes his practice exclusively to labor and employment law. He is a practitioner and counselor to his clients on labor matters including collective bargaining, union organizing, NLRB unfair labor practice charge defense, and labor strategies for mergers, acquisitions…

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22 Jul 2014 NLRB Decides Not to Risk Its D.R. Horton Decision

National Labor Relations Board | Gerald Lutkus

  My colleague Holt Hedrick has posted some interesting thoughts on the B&T Currents blog about the NLRB’s decision not to appeal to the Supreme Court, its decision in D.R. Horton.   If you remember, in D.R. Horton, the NLRB ruled that companies violated the NLRA if they required employees to sign a mandatory arbitration provision that contained a class action waiver.  Holt suggested that Board declined to appeal the 5th Circuit’s decision because without a…

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16 Jul 2014 NLRB WEEKLY SUMMARY OF DECISIONS, July 7-11, 2014

National Labor Relations Board | Keith Brodie

  The Summary of NLRB decisions for the week of July 7-11, 2014, is now available on the NLRB’s website.     WEEKLY SUMMARY Keith BrodieKeith J. Brodie is a partner in Barnes & Thornburg LLP’s Grand Rapids, Michigan office. He devotes his practice exclusively to labor and employment law. He is a practitioner and counselor to his clients on labor matters including collective bargaining, union organizing, NLRB unfair labor practice charge defense, and labor strategies…

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11 Jul 2014 NLRB WEEKLY SUMMARY OF DECISIONS, JUNE 30-July 3, 2014

National Labor Relations Board | Keith Brodie

  The Summary of NLRB decisions for the week of June 30-July 3, 2014, is now available on the NLRB’s website.     Keith BrodieKeith J. Brodie is a partner in Barnes & Thornburg LLP’s Grand Rapids, Michigan office. He devotes his practice exclusively to labor and employment law. He is a practitioner and counselor to his clients on labor matters including collective bargaining, union organizing, NLRB unfair labor practice charge defense, and labor strategies for…

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