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22 Mar 2018 Whose Law Is It Anyway? NLRB Dings Company For Actions Related To FLSA (Not NLRA) Lawsuit

National Labor Relations Board | David Pryzbylski

  The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) raised eye brows in 2015 when it ruled that an individual who filed a collective action claim pursuant to the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) in federal court was engaged in “protected activity” under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). The board then rendered a similar ruling last year, again finding that the filing of an FLSA collective action is protected by the NLRA. Notably, the FLSA has…

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20 Mar 2018 Union Organizing Threat: Are Worker Centers Labor Organizations?

Union Organizing | David Pryzbylski

  In recent years, many “worker centers” have been popping up around the country. As reported by the Wall Street Journal, the centers can act as a “backdoor approach to union organizing.” The Journal specifically describes them as follows: “The community groups, called worker centers, are often backed by unions. But they aren’t considered ‘labor organizations’ by law because they don’t have continuing bargaining relationships with employers. That gives them more freedom in their use…

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16 Mar 2018 Another Redo At The NLRB Because Of Conflicts of Interest?

National Labor Relations Board | David Pryzbylski

Last month the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) made headlines when it vacated a decision from December 2017– the Hy-Brand case – that overruled its infamous Browning-Ferris decision regarding joint-employment under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). That action reinstated the more lax standard under Browning-Ferris for finding joint-employment. The board ruled that current Member Emanuel should not have participated in Hy-Brand in light of the fact that his former law firm was involved in…

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14 Mar 2018 NLRB Extends Deadline for Public Feedback on Potential Changes to Its ‘Ambush Election Rule’ – Again

National Labor Relations Board | David Pryzbylski

On March 14, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) announced that it is extending the deadline for public feedback on potential changes to its “ambush election rule” to April 18. This follows an announcement by the agency on Jan. 26 that it was extending the comment period to March 19 from the original deadline of Feb. 12.   The NLRB announced on Dec. 12 that it was seeking input from the public regarding the NLRB’s…

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13 Mar 2018 Full Disclosure: Hospital Forced To Give Union Confidential Business Information

National Labor Relations Board | David Pryzbylski

  The dreaded information request. Unionized companies generally have a duty to provide unions with “relevant” information upon request under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), and the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) – at least under the prior administration – has taken an expansive view of the types of information a company must provide to a union. A new case demonstrates that this is still an area where employers can get tripped up –…

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07 Mar 2018 Does Labor Law Protect Employees Engaged In Harassment?

National Labor Relations Board | David Pryzbylski

  Employers across the U.S. have been moving swiftly to prevent and eradicate harassment in the workplace since the advent of the #metoo movement last year. While in many instances terminating employees engaged in “harassing” behavior can be an easy decision, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has, in the past, forced employers to reinstate employees discharged for misconduct that potentially constituted unlawful harassment under federal employment laws, such as Title VII of the Civil…

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06 Mar 2018 Justified: Labor Board Upholds Discharge Of Employee Who Misused Company Security Passcode

National Labor Relations Board | David Pryzbylski

  Employee discharge decisions often form the basis for disputes – whether they arise in court or before administrative agencies. Such decisions routinely are challenged by unions before the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), and the agency has overturned terminations and reinstated workers in situations even where egregious misconduct was at issue. A recent case shows, however, there are limits on an employee’s ability to engage in misconduct even when activity potentially protected by the…

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05 Mar 2018 Social Media Policies Continue To Give Rise To Litigation Before The Labor Board

National Labor Relations Board | David Pryzbylski

  The Washington Post will have to defend allegations regarding its social media policy. Bloomberg BNA is reporting that Region 5 (Baltimore) of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has issued a complaint against the media company regarding its implementation of a social media policy.   According to Bloomberg BNA, “The newspaper updated its social media policy in May 2017 to prohibit conduct that ‘adversely affects The Post’s customers, advertisers, subscribers, vendors, suppliers or partners.’ ……

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02 Mar 2018 Frozen: Union Appeals to Congress Over NLRB’s Planned “Hiring Freeze”

National Labor Relations Board | David Pryzbylski

  Bloomberg BNA is reporting that the National Labor Relations Board Professional Association – the union who represents National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) employees – has sent letters to congressional members expressing concern over a planned “hiring freeze” at the agency.   According to the report: “The agency plans to implement the freeze, eliminate performance awards, and lay off health services and information technology contractors, the union said in letters to four Democrats on committees…

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01 Mar 2018 Wisconsin Supreme Court Rules Labor Commission can Decertify Public Unions

Union Organizing, Unions and Union Membership | Thomas Payne

  Yesterday, the Wisconsin Supreme Court dealt a blow to public unions in the state when they held that the Wisconsin Employment Relations Commission has the authority to decertify bargaining units that ignore the Commission’s annual recertification election rules.   The litigation stems from Wisconsin’s Act 10, a controversial 2011 law championed by Governor Scott Walker, which curtailed collective bargaining rights for most public workers in the state while weakening public unions financially and making…

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