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15 May 2012 NLRB Suspends Implementation of Ambush Election Rules

National Labor Relations Board | btlabor

The Board has announced that it is “temporarily” suspending implementation of its ambush election rules, in light of the D.C. District Court decision yesterday finding the rules invalid.  The Board’s notice states that about 150 representation petitions had been filed under the new rules since they went into effect on April 30. The parties involved in those cases will be given the opportunity to continue processing the case under the new procedures, but any newly filed cases will be processed…

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15 May 2012 Seventh Circuit Sides with U.S. Steel in Latest Donning and Doffing Decision

Uncategorized | btlabor

The Seventh Circuit in Sandifer v. U.S Steel has provided union employers a useful tool to avoid potential Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA” or “Act”) liability. Sandifer arose out of a “collective action” brought under the FLSA by 800 former and current unionized hourly workers at U.S. Steel’s steel works in Gary, Ind. The plaintiffs argued that U.S. Steel violated the FLSA when it failed to compensate them for time spent donning and doffing work…

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14 May 2012 D.C. District Court Throws Out Ambush Election Rules, Finds Board Lacked Quorum

National Labor Relations Board | btlabor

  District Court Judge James E. Boasberg of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia issued an opinion this afternoon finding the NLRB’s “ambush” election rules invalid because the Board did not have three members who cast a vote on whether to implement the rules when they were adopted in December.  Although the Board had three members at the time, Judge Boasberg found that Member Brian Hayes objected to the rules and did not…

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14 May 2012 Second Circuit Overturns NLRB, Upholds Starbucks’ One-Button Rule for Union Insignia

Uncategorized | btlabor

Employers were handed a victory by the Second Circuit last week after the court refused to enforce an NLRB order finding that Starbucks Corp. violated the NLRA by refusing to allow organizing employees to wear more than one union button.  The general rule is that employees have the right to wear union insignia at work unless the employer can show special circumstances that would justify restricting that right. In this case, although Starbucks had a…

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11 May 2012 The NLRB’s Acting General Counsel Wants To Access Your Company’s Intranet

Uncategorized | Adam Bartrom

In preparation for bargaining of an initial cba, the Machinists’ Union sent an extensive request for information to a DirecTV provider and installer in California. The request included a request for “access to the company intranet to the same degree unit employees have such access so the Union can review what material is available to all employees.” The Company refused and ULPs for refusal to bargain followed. In the proceeding before the Board, the NLRB’s acting General Counsel sought summary judgment…

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10 May 2012 NLRB Weekly Summary of Decisions: April 30 – May 4, 2012

Uncategorized | btlabor

The National Labor Relations Board’s (NLRB) weekly summary of decisions for last week, April 30 – May 4, 2012, is now available on the Board’s website. The summary can be accessed by clicking here. btlaborBT Labor Relations is managed by the labor law attorneys at Barnes & Thornburg. The blog aims to be a source for news, analysis, and commentary on traditional labor legal issues, including news related to the NLRB and a variety of state…

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08 May 2012 Pressure Continues to Mount on NLRB’s Flynn

Uncategorized | Gerald Lutkus

NLRB Member Terence Flynn is the subject of a second investigation by the Inspector General concerning alleged leaks by Flynn of internal Board information to former Board member Peter Schaumber.  Like the first report, issued March 19, 2012, the second report, issued late last week concludes that “the issues identified in this report…evidence a serious threat to the Board’s decisional due process. We recommend the Board review these facts to determine appropriate action.” Copies of both…

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30 Apr 2012 Board Provides Guidance on Implementation of Quickie-Election Rules

Uncategorized | Steve Hernandez

On April 26, NLRB’s Acting General Counsel Lafe Solomon issued a detailed memorandum, outlining in detail how regional offices will implement the new representation election rules from beginning to end. The memorandum can be read in its entirety here. The General Counsel’s office also issued a set of Frequently Asked Questions, explaining the revised rules and procedures to be followed by the regions. The FAQ can be read here. Steve HernandezSteve L. Hernández is a partner in…

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30 Apr 2012 Employer Groups Fail in Attempt to Stay Quickie-Election Rules

Uncategorized | Steve Hernandez

On Saturday, April 28, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the Coalition for a Democratic Workplace’s (“Plaintiffs”) attempt to stay the implementation of the quickie-election rules that go into effect today was denied by the United States District Court for the District of Columbia’s Judge James E. Boasberg. In his brief minute order, Judge Boasberg denied the plaintiff’s Motion to Stay, filed on Friday, April 27, stating that “[a]ny injury to Plaintiffs is not irreparable because…

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30 Apr 2012 Brave New World

Uncategorized | Scott Witlin

Today is the day that the NLRB’s new quickie election rules go into effect. These are significant changes to the election rules that organized labor has sought more decades. The changes will make it significantly harder for an employer to get an opportunity to get its message out once a petition has been filed. It will also increase the risks employers will have to take to campaign effectively after the petition is filed. There is…

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