NLRA, Employer Rights, Unions

D.C. Circuit Clarifies Employer Communication Rights During Union Campaigns

Littler on 4/2/2024

On March 1, 2024, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit clarified the rules that apply when employers distribute information and observe employees during union campaigns. The court found that a New York-based...more

Illinois Governor Amends Labor Disputes Act

Littler on 6/27/2023

On June 9, 2023, Illinois Governor J. B. Pritzker signed into law HB 2907 and HB 3396, amending the Illinois Labor Disputes Act (“Act”) to expand protections for striking workers. The new law restricts defensive measures...more

NLRB Telegraphs Possible New Standard for Employee Email Use

Bodman on 10/5/2022

On Friday, September 30, 2022, the NLRB reversed its earlier stance that Chelsea Befort was lawfully terminated for violating T-Mobile’s electronic communications policy. Ms. Befort sent mass emails to all 595 Customer...more

NLRB's Top Prosecutor Seeks to Muzzle Employers by Banning Employee Meetings

FordHarrison on 4/13/2022

Executive Summary: In an April 7, 2022 memo from the NLRB, General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo (“Abruzzo”) announced her intent to challenge employers’ long-standing practice of holding informational meetings regarding union...more

NLRB General Counsel Aggressively Seeks to Expand Unions’ Right to Demand Recognition; Restrict Employer Speech

Littler on 4/13/2022

National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB” or “the Board”) General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo continues to push the Board to take aggressive and unprecedented pro-labor stances, seeking to overturn decades of well-settled...more

NLRB General Counsel Aims to Drastically Change Employers’ Rights Related to "Captive Audience" and Other Mandatory Meetings About...

Harris Beach PLLC on 4/11/2022

For nearly 75 years, employers have held the right to gather employees at work for mandatory meetings to discuss, in a non-coercive manner, the employer’s views concerning unionization. On April 7, 2022, however, National...more

NLRB May Outlaw Captive Audience and Other Mandatory Meetings

Stevens & Lee on 4/8/2022

On April 7, 2022, National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo circulated a memorandum to all Field offices, expressing her intention to ask the Board to deem “captive audience meetings,” where...more

Will Big Labor’s Big Wishlist Return For 2021? The Implications Of A Resurrected PRO Act On Businesses Large And Small

Fisher Phillips on 1/18/2021

When the House of Representatives passed the PRO Act last year with the aim of overhauling federal labor law for the benefit of organized labor, we predicted the legislation would stall in the face of the Republican Senate...more

Coronavirus and the Workplace: Employers Considering Taking Employees’ Temperatures at Work Should Proceed with Caution

Pullman & Comley - Labor, Employment and... on 3/16/2020

Most employers are making efforts to ensure that sick employees do not come to work. Because a fever may be a symptom of infection with the Coronavirus (“COVID-19”), some employers are considering taking their employees’...more

Labor Gets Wishlist Bill Passed In House

Fisher Phillips on 2/11/2020

The U.S. House of Representatives just passed a bill that would tilt the scales of labor law unequivocally in favor of organized labor. The Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act would bring about a radical shift in labor...more

NLRB Wraps up Blockbuster Year with a Bang

Stinson LLP on 1/10/2020

The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) issued a whirlwind series of rulings to cap off 2019. The NLRB typically issues many decisions near the end of a Board member's term, so this flurry comes as no surprise...more

NLRB Okays Confidentiality Rules During Ongoing Investigations and Restrictions of Personal Use of Work Email

Vedder Price on 1/9/2020

In a flurry of year-end activity before losing its lone Democratic member, the National Labor Relations Board (the “Board”) recently issued two decisions that allow employers to maintain greater confidentiality protections...more

National Employment Perspective: Focus on the NLRB and Employee Communication

Shook, Hardy & Bacon L.L.P. on 1/9/2020

Recent Changes to NLRB Guidance Regarding Employers’ Policies Involving Employee Communication - Two recent decisions by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) have significantly overturned earlier rulings regarding...more

National Labor Relations Board Expands Employers’ Rights to Enforce Workplace Rules

Pierce Atwood LLP on 1/8/2020

In a pair of significant year-end rulings, the National Labor Relations Board overturned two Obama-era precedents that had restricted the ability of both unionized and non-unionized employers to limit the use of company email...more

Employers May Now Forbid Employees Using Co. Email for Protected Concerted Activities, Forbid Employees from Discussing On-Going...

Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP on 12/23/2019

The Trump National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) continues to reshape the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA or Act) with new decisions that reverse precedents and undo legal restrictions placed on employers during the Obama...more

Employer Rights to Control the Workplace Reinstated by President Trump's NLRB

Steptoe & Johnson PLLC on 12/23/2019

On December 17, 2019, the National Labor Relations Board issued two decisions that reversed troubling precedents and restored rights to employers. First, the NLRB reiterated that employers have a right to control the use of...more

NLRB Trend of Employer-Friendly Decisions Continues: Investigative Confidentiality Rules and Use of Employer Emails

Ballard Spahr LLP on 12/20/2019

On the same day as the departure of the lone Democratic Board member, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) this week continued its trend of issuing employer-friendly decisions that reverse Obama-era Board precedent. In...more

Board Overturns Purple Communications, Restores Employer Right to Restrict Email Use

Littler on 12/19/2019

On December 17, 2019, in a 3-1 decision split along party lines, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) restored to employers the right to restrict employees from using company email systems for nonbusiness purposes. The...more

NLRB Reverses Purple Communications – Holds Employer May Restrict Employees’ Use of Email and Other Information Technology Systems

Epstein Becker & Green on 12/18/2019

On December 17, 2019, the National Labor Relations Board (“Board”) ruled that an employer’s rule prohibiting use of its email system for nonbusiness purposes did not violate employees’ rights under the National Labor...more

NLRB: Worker Misclassification Alone Is Not an NLRA Violation

Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP on 10/15/2019

Workers considered “employees” are covered under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) and are afforded certain rights to improve their wages and working conditions. Employees have the right to unionize and the right to...more

NLRB Adopts “Contract Coverage” Standard to Apply to an Employer’s Unilateral Changes to Terms and Conditions of Employment

Dorsey & Whitney LLP on 9/13/2019

A recent decision by the National Labor Relations Board (the “NLRB” or “Board”) makes it easier for employers to change workplace rules without discussing the change with the union representing their employees. As...more

The National Labor Relations Act › Employer Rights › Unions