In most situations the NLRB’s long established Weingarten doctrine can be applied in a fairly straight-forward fashion. But I still get questions regarding the interplay of drug and alcohol testing when it comes to Weingarten. This is probably due to the fact that the Ralphs Grocery Company decision, which issued in 2014, is a
No Purple Communications Exception Applied to Healthcare Providers
In an August 27, 2015 decision, a majority of the Board found that the Purple Communications standard, with respect to an employer’s email system, would apply without exception to healthcare providers and, in particular, for acute care hospitals. Contrary to the cogent arguments put forth by member Johnson in his dissent, the majority found
More Changes by the NLRB . . . Joint Employer and Dues Check-Off Doctrines . . . Why?
The NLRB continues to overrule long-standing case law in key areas. Last week, in particular, two major determinations of the NLRB issued which will no doubt be tested before the courts of appeal. One, involving the Joint Employer Doctrine for which this Firm issued a client alert, can be reviewed here; the second
Another Double Standard Established By The NLRB
On June 26, 2015 the Board issued a decision in American Baptist Homes of the West d/b/a Piedmont Gardens in which it overruled precedent that has been in place since 1978 which had exempt witness statements from disclosure under the request for information guidelines per Section 8(a)5 of the Act. Notwithstanding strong public policy to
Harry and Phil Are Right . . . Pull the Plug on D.R. Horton
I understand the need to “push the envelope” when you sit in the position of being a prosecutor, as does the General Counsel for the NLRB, but the Board itself does not sit in that role. Nor should it ignore the legal directions of the Supreme Court, and other courts of this land, which have
Union Organizing Via Email
Before the advent of the digital age, when there was an organizing campaign afoot, most employers would be told by their legal counsel to put their rolodex under lock and key, and to review their standard no solicitation/no distribution policies in an effort to slow down organizing attempts in their workplace. Obviously much of this
What E-Mail Policy?
On March 12, 2014 a three-person panel of the NLRB issued a rather scathing decision with respect to the named employer’s attempted enforcement of their e-mail policy. The employer involved, the California Institute of Technology Jet Propulsion Laboratory, employed approximately 5000 individuals at the site in question. As a result of new federal regulations, per
Paying Your (Employees’) Dues
On December 12, 2012, the NLRB reversed longstanding precedent in WKYC-TV, Inc., holding that dues checkoff provisions continue in force after the labor contract expires. (“Dues checkoff” is the act of deducting union dues from employees’ wages and remitting them to the union.) This decision overruled Bethlehem Steel, 136 N.L.R.B. 1500 (1962), which
“Let’s Give Them Something to Talk About” – Confidentiality in Workplace Investigations
The NLRB’s recent decision in Banner Health System, 358 NLRB No. 93 (2012) has tongues wagging, and not just in the blogsphere. In a controversial decision, the NLRB struck down an employment policy requiring employee confidentiality during workplace investigations. The Board held that this type of “blanket” policy potentially prevents employees from engaging in
New NLRB Ruling Leaves Many Questions Unanswered for Non-Union Employers
On September 28, 2012, the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) issued its decision in Karl Knauz Motors, Inc., 358 NLRB No. 164 (2012). The NLRB affirmed an Administrative Law Judge’s findings that a car dealership did not violate the National Labor Relations Act (“Act”) after it terminated a salesperson for his posts on Facebook.