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.

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.

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.

The Practical NLRB Advisor: Summer 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.

The Practical NLRB Advisor: Spring 2022

Ogletree Deakins’ Traditional Labor Relations Practice Group is pleased to announce the publication of the Spring 2022 issue of the Practical NLRB Advisor. In the last issue of the Practical NLRB Advisor we detailed the aggressive agenda of the Board’s newly minted general counsel (GC) and her apparent quest to persuade the Board to reverse or substantially modify broad swaths of extant decisional law under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA).

The Practical NLRB Advisor: Winter 2021

Ogletree Deakins’ Traditional Labor Relations Practice Group is pleased to announce the publication of the Winter 2021 issue of the Practical NLRB Advisor. This issue offers insight into the anticipated significant changes in labor relations policy we can expect to see with the election of President Joe Biden, a longtime vocal supporter of organized labor, coupled with control of both chambers of Congress by the traditionally labor-oriented Democratic Party.

The Practical NLRB Advisor: Fall 2020

Ogletree Deakins’ Traditional Labor Relations Practice Group is pleased to announce the publication of the Fall 2020 issue of the Practical NLRB Advisor. This issue offers insight into the future of labor policy in the wake of a politically polarized presidential election year and a sharply divided electorate. Even though the 2020 election is over, we can expect to see continued battles over traditionally pro-labor segments of the workforce, controversial legislation that is likely to be advanced in the near term, and recent National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) activity.

The Practical NLRB Advisor: Summer 2020

Ogletree Deakins’ Traditional Labor Relations Practice Group is pleased to announce the publication of the summer 2020 issue of the Practical NLRB Advisor. This issue offers insight into the new, and, oftentimes unanticipated, labor/management issues resulting from the coronavirus pandemic. While COVID-19 brought an abrupt halt to many aspects of daily life, it has had quite the opposite effect on labor relations: novel bargaining obligations arose, and new bargaining mechanics became necessary. These unexpected issues, coupled with an increase in employee concerted activity in response to the pandemic, have all tested the capacity of the parties and the law to adapt to unprecedented circumstances.

Contract Negotiations in the Midst of the COVID-19 Pandemic: What if Your Union Contract Expires on March 31, 2020?

As employers everywhere grapple with the COVID-19 crisis and its impact upon their employees and operations, questions have arisen regarding union contracts that expire on or about March 31, 2020. Although every labor contract and bargaining relationship is unique, established federal labor law principles can be applied to guide employers during this difficult time.

The Practical NLRB Advisor: Summer 2019

Ogletree Deakins’ Traditional Labor Relations Practice Group is pleased to announce the publication of the summer 2019 issue of the Practical NLRB Advisor. This edition examines the National Labor Relations Board’s (NLRB) new framework for determining whether an incumbent union has lost the support of a majority of bargaining unit members in circumstances where the employer informs the union that it will withdraw recognition when the current agreement expires.

The Practical NLRB Advisor: Spring 2019

Ogletree Deakins’ Traditional Labor Relations Practice Group is pleased to announce the publication of the spring 2019 issue of the Practical NLRB Advisor. This edition provides a close look at the development of the independent-contractor standard at the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). The NLRB’s recent decision on this issue—one of the most critical legal questions of the day, both in the context of traditional labor law and in employment law generally—marks yet another significant reversal of Obama-era NLRB decisional law.

Effectively Countering the NLRB’s Continued Obsession With Default Language in Informal Settlement Agreements

The majority of unfair labor practice (ULP) charges against employers are either withdrawn, dismissed or settled. My February 7, 2014 article discussed the former general counsel’s (GC) 2011 mandate (GC Memo 11-04) requiring National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) Regional Directors to include “default language” in every informal settlement agreement.

The Practical NLRB Advisor: Winter 2018

Ogletree Deakins’ Traditional Labor Relations Practice Group is pleased to announce the publication of the winter 2018 issue of the Practical NLRB Advisor. This issue examines how the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) is moving forward after a slow start during the Trump administration’s first year in office—in which it took nearly nine months to realize a short-lived Republican majority.

NLRB’s New “Ambush Election” Rules Go Into Effect: Is Your Organization Ready?

On April 14, 2015, after a four-year battle, the National Labor Relations Board’s (NLRB) final “ambush election” rules, which will dramatically shorten the time between requests for a vote and a union election, go into effect. The controversial new rules will significantly alter the timing of union representation elections supervised by the NLRB and will tilt the elections in unions’ favor. The rules also strip employers of a number of rights related to the representation case process.