Jennifer Abruzzo, the General Counsel for the National Labor Relations Board issued a new memo, 23-02, over her concerns that electronic surveillance by employers is impairing employees’ ability to engage in protected concerted activity and keeping that activity confidential from their employer. GC Abruzzo refers to case law that is, for the most part, dated and well-known in terms of the “do’s and don’ts” of improper employer surveillance in the workplace.

Read the full post on Husch Blackwell’s Labor and Employment Law Insights blog to find out our take on GC Abruzzo’s new focus.

According to a recent Gallup poll, 71 percent of Americans “approve of labor unions,” up three percentage points from 2021.

This represents a generational high-water mark for union support – the last time Gallup measured a higher union approval rating among the American public was 1959 when 73 Americans approved of labor unions. Prior to this year, union support had remained lower than 70% ever since union support dropped to 66 percent in 1967. The low-water mark was reached in 2009 when unions enjoyed only 48% support from the American public.

Continue Reading Union Support Reaches Generational High-Water Mark as Union Election Petitions Surge

On August 29, 2022, the NLRB issued its decision in Tesla, Inc., overruling precedent that allowed employers to enforce facially-neutral dress codes to prohibit wearing non-conforming attire, including union insignia and union logos. Now, employers must allow employees to wear union attire absent a showing of “special circumstances.”

Continue Reading NLRB Mandates National Dress Code

It has become increasingly apparent that the Biden Administration’s National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) is aggressively pushing labor-friendly positions, like those seen under the Obama Administration.

Now it appears the NLRB’s General Counsel has taken aim at Section 8(c) of the National Labor Relations Act (the Act), and in so doing undermines 75 years of jurisprudence as “incorrectly concluded.”

On April 7, 2022, the NLRB announced the General Counsel’s desire to restrict employers’ ability to speak to their employees about unions, whether in so-called “captive audience” meetings, or whether “cornered by management while performing their job duties.” The General Counsel claims such meetings and conversations “inherently involve an unlawful threat that employees will be disciplined or suffer other reprisals if they exercise their protected right not to listen to such speech.”

Continue Reading NLRB Seeks to Reduce Company Speech About Unions

Construction Site Sillouhette with Multiple Cranes at Sunset

On February 4, 2022, President Biden issued Executive Order 14063, requiring certain federal construction contractors and subcontractors “to negotiate or become party to a project labor agreement with one or more appropriate labor organizations.”

The EO’s Project Labor Agreement (PLA) requirement applies to “large-scale construction projects,” defined to include domestic federal construction projects “for which the total estimated cost of the construction contract to the Federal Government is $35 million or more,” subject to adjustment based on inflation.

Find out more in a post by Michael Schrier and Adam Doerr on Husch Blackwell’s The Contractor’s Perspective blog.

In this episode, we take an in-depth look at what an unfair labor practice is, why non-union employers need to be wary of these federal law violations, and how to avoid running afoul of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). We will also discuss National Labor Relations Board (Board) General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo’s recent guidance regarding the types of remedies available when an unfair labor practice occurs.

Join us to listen to the latest episode in our series, “The Biden Administration: Expected Changes at the NLRB.”  Alternatively, a short summary of the topics covered in the podcast is also available on our website.

On November 5, 2021, the U.S. Department of Labor, through the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), issued an Emergency Temporary Standard to Protect Workers from Coronavirus (ETS). The ETS covers employers with 100 or more employees—firm or company-wide—and provides options for compliance. The ETS requires covered employers to develop, implement, and enforce a mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policy. Alternatively, covered employers may adopt a policy requiring employees to choose between vaccination and regular COVID-19 testing and wearing a face covering at work. The ETS also requires covered employers to provide up to four hours of paid time to workers to get vaccinated and to allow for paid leave to recover from side effects.

Continue Reading Vaccine Mandates May Require Collective Bargaining

The Labor Law Insider continues the discussion in this podcast episode with Tom Godar, Tom O’Day, Terry Potter and Rufino Gaytán on actions employers should take proactively to deter unions from garnering employee support in the workplace. Shifting social issues in and outside the workplace along with significant public support for labor unions subject all companies to the risk of a successful organizing campaign, resulting in a unionized workforce. Tune in to our podcast to learn about the steps all employers should take to protect their direct relationship with employees.

The Labor Law Insider takes on the recharged union optimism and activity in this podcast episode. Moderator Tom Godar is joined by members of Husch Blackwell’s Labor Law team, Terry Potter, Tom O’Day, and Rufino Gaytán, to discuss the increase in public support for unions, recent changes in organizing activities by unions, and implications for employers. With the benefit of their more than 100 years of combined experience in labor law, our panel discusses actions employers should take to maintain a direct relationship with their employees as unions attempt to increase their organizing efforts in the workplace.

Join us to listen to the latest episode in our series, “The Biden Administration: Expected Changes at the NLRB.”  Alternatively, a short summary of the topics covered in the podcast is also available on our website.

 

After President Biden won the November 2020 general election, nobody really expected the National Labor Relations Board’s (“NLRB’s”) employer-friendly doctrines to survive the new Administration. And they won’t. Continue Reading NLRB General Counsel’s Wish List: Reverse the Trump Board