New York Governor Signs Law Banning Mandatory ‘Captive Audience’ Meetings

On September 6, 2023, New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed a law that prohibits employers from requiring employees to attend employer-sponsored meetings the “primary purpose” of which is to communicate the employer’s opinions on religious or political matters, including relating to joining a labor organization. The new law, which took immediate effect, comes amid a wider push against so-called “captive audience” meetings.

Past Practice in the Past? NLRB Narrows Past Practice Defense for Employer Unilateral Action During Bargaining

On August 30, 2023, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) released two decisions that will make it more difficult for employers to implement past practices during a break in bargaining or at an impasse, opening the door for unions to hold employers hostage by dragging out collective bargaining.

NLRB Adopts New Union-Friendly Recognition Standard

On August 25, 2023, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) adopted a new standard for union representation that requires an employer to recognize and bargain with a union that has demonstrated majority status unless the employer challenges the union’s support through an employer-initiated NLRB election, and does so without committing an unfair labor practice. The ruling, combined with the resuscitation of the Board’s 2014 “ambush election” rules, will make it more difficult for employers to respond to demands for recognition from unions claiming to have majority support from the employees at issue.

NLRB Reverts to Quick Union Elections Rules

On August 24, 2023, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) announced a new final rule for union elections that revives the prior “ambush election” rules. The new rule compresses the time period between the time a representation petition is filed and the actual election. The impact of the rule is to make it more difficult for employers to educate employees about unions and unionization prior to a vote.

NLRB Adopts Standard Critical of Employer Workplace Rules, Handbooks

On August 2, 2023, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) adopted a new burden-shifting standard for evaluating whether work rules infringe upon employees’ rights under Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA)—that may require employers to narrowly tailor rules to avoid violating the act.

NLRB Modifies Independent Contractor Test

On June 13, 2023, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) overruled its 2019 independent contractor standard focused on whether workers have “entrepreneurial opportunity” and returned to a common law multi-factor analysis that could lead to more workers being found to have been improperly classified as independent contractors.

The Practical NLRB Advisor: Spring 2023

Ogletree Deakins’ Traditional Labor Relations Practice Group is pleased to announce the publication of the Winter 2023 issue of the Practical NLRB Advisor. This issue provides an overview of a host of controversial decisions and sharply divided opinions issued by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) resulting from the mid-December 2022 departure of Republican Board member John F. Ring.

Supreme Court Holds NLRA Does Not Preempt Claims for Intentional Property Damage Committed by Strikers

On June 1, 2023, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) does not preempt an employer’s state court tort claims alleging a union intentionally destroyed the employer’s property during a strike. The ruling is significant for employers in that it could open the door for lawsuits against unions to protect their interests and recover the value of property destroyed during increasingly contentious labor disputes.

NLRB General Counsel Says Noncompete Agreements Violate Federal Labor Law

The National Labor Relations Board General Counsel (GC) issued a memorandum on May 30, 2023, declaring her opinion that the “proffer, maintenance, and enforcement’ of noncompete agreements in employment contracts and severance agreements violate the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) “except in limited circumstances.”

NLRB Ruling Makes It More Difficult for Employers to Discipline Employees Over Outbursts

On May 1, 2023, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) issued a decision in  Lion Elastomers LLC II that changes the standards relating to discipline or discharge of workers who cross the line with offensive or abusive conduct while engaging in activity protected by the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA).

NLRB Focuses on When Video Cameras Can Create an ‘Unlawful Impression of Surveillance’

In a decision relevant for employers utilizing video surveillance equipment in the workplace and those considering the installation of video cameras, the National Labor Relations Board concluded that an employer created an “unlawful impression of surveillance” by viewing camera footage of an employee, even though the employee was not engaged in protected concerted activity.

NLRB Opens Door to Additional Remedies for Repeated Labor Violations

On April 20, 2023, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) imposed a host of expanded remedies against an employer that allegedly committed a number of repeated labor law violations in the context of collective bargaining. The decision signals the Board’s willingness to impose harsh remedies against employers more frequently, in the full spectrum of unfair labor practice litigation. Employers everywhere now face the prospect of defending against requests for harsh remedies when litigating a wide range of unfair labor practice charges.

NYC Comptroller’s Shareholder Proposal Threatens to Curb Employers’ NLRA Free Speech Rights and Employee Free Choice

On March 31, 2023, New York City Comptroller Brad Lander, on behalf of the five New York City retirement systems, announced a new shareholder proposal at Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc., asking the board of directors to adopt a “policy of noninterference” at the company.

Governor Whitmer Signs Legislation Repealing Michigan’s Right-to-Work Law

On March 24, 2023, Governor Gretchen Whitmer signed into law legislation repealing Michigan’s right-to-work law for private-sector employees. The legislation had previously passed the Michigan House of Representatives on March 14, 2023, and the Michigan Senate on March 21, 2023. Both bills passed along party lines.

NLRB General Counsel Says Confidentiality, Nondisparagement Clause Decision Applies Retroactively

On March 22, 2023, National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) General Counsel (GC) Jennifer Abruzzo issued a memorandum clarifying the Board’s February 2023 decision that nondisparagement and confidentiality provisions in severance agreements are unlawful. In the memorandum, the GC states that she interprets the decision to apply retroactively to agreements already signed and that claims would not be time-barred as long as an employer maintains or enforces such terms.

The Practical NLRB Advisor: Winter 2023

Ogletree Deakins’ Traditional Labor Relations Practice Group is pleased to announce the publication of the Winter 2023 issue of the Practical NLRB Advisor. This issue provides an overview of a host of controversial decisions and sharply divided opinions issued by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) resulting from the mid-December 2022 departure of Republican Board member John F. Ring.

Michigan House Passes Bills to Repeal State’s Right-to-Work Law, Debate Moves to Michigan Senate

On March 8, 2023, the Michigan House of Representatives passed two bills that would repeal Michigan’s current right-to-work law. The two bills, House Bill (HB) 4004 and HB 4005, passed 56–53 along party lines. HB 4004 relates specifically to right to work in the public sector; HB 4005 relates to right to work in the private sector.

NLRB Judge’s Decision Tees Up Reconsideration of Test for Religious Exemption

On February 23, 2023, an administrative law judge for the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) ruled that a Catholic university in Florida is exempt from the Board’s jurisdiction as a religious institution. But the case tees up the test for the religious institution exemption to be overturned by the full Board—which could open up more religious educational institutions to Board jurisdiction.

NLRB Holds Confidentiality, Nondisparagement Provisions Illegal in Severance Agreements Presented to Section 7 Employees

On February 21, 2023, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) issued an important decision that may fundamentally change how and when employers use confidentiality and nondisparagement provisions.

NLRB Concludes Exigent Circumstances Delay, Do Not Eliminate, Decisional Bargaining

In a decision instructive to employers facing sudden, emergency conditions requiring immediate response, a divided National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) in Metro Man IV, LLC d/b/a Fountain Bleu Health and Rehabilitation Center, Inc., 372 NLRB No. 37 (December 28, 2022), expanded an employer’s obligation to bargain with a union in the aftermath of exigent circumstances.

Supreme Court Asks Whether Tort Claims to Recover Property Damaged During Strike Are Preempted by NLRA

On January 10, 2023, justices for the Supreme Court of the United States questioned attorneys for a ready-mix concrete company and the union representing its truck drivers over whether claims to recover the value of the company’s property destroyed as a result of a strike are preempted by the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). The case, Glacier Northwest, Inc. v. International Brotherhood of Teamsters Local Union No. 174, could provide clarity for employers on how employers can recover the value of property that is destroyed during increasingly contentious labor disputes.

NLRB Reverses Course to Limit Property Owners’ Right to Limit Off-Duty Access for Section 7 Activity

In another ruling promoting a pro-labor agenda under the Biden administration, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) reverted to its pre-2019 precedent on the balance between the rights of property owners and the rights of employees under Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA).

The Practical NLRB Advisor: Fall 2022

Ogletree Deakins’ Traditional Labor Relations Practice Group is pleased to announce the publication of the Summer 2022 issue of the Practical NLRB Advisor. In this issue, the Advisor takes a small departure from our usual practice of providing readers a snapshot of, and insights into, the current state of U.S. labor law. Instead, this issue aims to engage the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) on some of the latest issues on the labor landscape.

NLRB Expands Make-Whole Remedy to Include ‘Direct or Foreseeable’ Damages

Fulfilling a top priority for National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) General Counsel Jennifer A. Abruzzo’s activist agenda, on December 13, 2022, the Board issued a decision that expands, arguably beyond statutory limits, the remedies recoverable by a successful charging party in unfair labor practice cases. The NLRB ruled that its make-whole remedy includes compensating employees “for all direct or foreseeable pecuniary harms suffered” as a consequence of labor violations.