Labor

  • September 13, 2024

    The 2024 Regional Powerhouses

    The law firms on Law360's list of 2024 Regional Powerhouses reflected the local peculiarities of their states while often representing clients in deals and cases that captured national attention.

  • September 13, 2024

    Workers Strike Class Deal With Ex-Union's Benefit Plans

    Former transportation company workers who accused a pair of their ex-union's benefit plans of unlawfully overpaying one of the plans' trustees and the plans' manager have urged an Illinois federal judge to greenlight a $615,000 class action deal.

  • September 13, 2024

    Yellow Corp's Bid To Ax $7.8B Pension Liability Rejected

    A Delaware bankruptcy judge sided with the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. in its dispute with trucking firm Yellow Corp. over $7.8 billion in retirement fund withdrawal liability, ruling Friday that special federal funds from a 2021 COVID-19 stimulus package do not reduce or eliminate the debtor's liability.

  • September 13, 2024

    Google, Cognizant Are Joint Employers, Union Tells DC Circ.

    The union representing workers at YouTube Music's content operation urged the D.C. Circuit to uphold a National Labor Relations Board decision that Google and contractor Cognizant jointly employ the video site's workers, saying there's a "mountain of evidence" to support the board's ruling that both companies need to bargain with the union.

  • September 13, 2024

    UFCW Pushes Supermarket To Produce Records In Labor Row

    The United Food and Commercial Workers Local 400 asked a federal judge to compel a grocery store to comply with a subpoena for records relating to grievances about workers' hours and pay.

  • September 13, 2024

    Boeing Machinists Strike For First Time Since 2008

    Thousands of Boeing machinists and other workers walked off the job Friday after rejecting a proposed contract that union leadership had recommended for approval.

  • September 13, 2024

    4 UK Employment Law Developments To Watch In 2024

    A bill expected to bring in new rights for workers and unions is the main event in U.K. employment law in what's left of 2024 — but lawyers say that an upcoming law change on sexual harassment and major disputes could also shape employers' practices. Here, Law360 looks at what to keep an eye on for the rest of 2024.

  • September 12, 2024

    6th Circ. Says Food Transporter Illegally Shuttered Warehouse

    A bulk food delivery contractor for grocery giant Kroger violated federal labor law when it closed its Louisville, Kentucky, terminal after a union representation election and fired employees, the Sixth Circuit has ruled, upholding a National Labor Relations Board decision.

  • September 12, 2024

    9th Circ. Sends Salary Basis Case Back To Lower Court

    San Francisco city nurses claiming they were not paid a true salary and are therefore entitled to overtime pay will have their day in court after the Ninth Circuit reversed a lower court's summary judgment and remanded the case for further proceedings.

  • September 12, 2024

    Disneyland Performers Can Join Colleagues In Existing Union

    Certain Disneyland performers can have the opportunity to vote to join an existing bargaining unit, the National Labor Relations Board ruled, overturning an NLRB judge's decision that they didn't share enough in common with existing members of the union to be part of their unit.

  • September 12, 2024

    Employment Firm GQ Littler Hires Pro From Baker McKenzie

    GQ Littler has hired a long-serving employment lawyer at Baker McKenzie to its office in London to represent U.K. and international clients, particularly in the financial services, technology and media sectors.

  • September 11, 2024

    Litigation Spending To Rise As Cases Grow More Aggressive

    A substantial number of large companies are expecting to increase their litigation spending by double digits next year in the face of more complex and hard-fought cases — and they are more open to bringing in new legal talent to navigate the matters, according to a report released Thursday. 

  • September 11, 2024

    Top Calif. Biz Bills Sitting On Gov. Newsom's Desk

    Among the hundreds of bills awaiting California Governor Gavin Newsom's signature are a number that would create new guidelines for Golden State employers, healthcare industry players, as well as artificial intelligence labeling, textile recycling and increasing criminal penalties for corporate malfeasance by tens of millions of dollars.

  • September 11, 2024

    Uber, Postmates Ask Justices To Address AB 5 Classifications

    Postmates and Uber urged the U.S. Supreme Court to reverse the Ninth Circuit's decision dismissing their constitutional challenge to California's worker classification law, arguing that A.B. 5 singles them out and strips them of equal protection under the law, according to their petition to the high court.

  • September 11, 2024

    NLRB Slaps Amazon For Settlement Violations in NY, Ill.

    Amazon violated an unfair labor practice settlement it reached with the National Labor Relations Board when it issued a policy restricting employees' off-duty access to facilities in Illinois and New York, the board ruled, ordering the company to rescind the policy and properly inform workers of their organizing rights.

  • September 11, 2024

    Constangy Brings On More Jackson Lewis Attys In San Diego

    Three former Jackson Lewis PC attorneys have come aboard at the San Diego office of labor and employment firm Constangy Brooks Smith & Prophete LLP, joining four onetime Jackson Lewis colleagues who arrived at Constangy this summer. 

  • September 10, 2024

    NLRB Says Pa. Hospital Must Give Union Wage Info

    A Pittsburgh-based psychiatric hospital must provide nonunion wage information to a union representing nursing employees, the National Labor Relations Board has ruled, upholding an administrative law judge's decision that the data is relevant for the union to execute its duties.

  • September 10, 2024

    Calif. NLRB Judge OKs Union Vote At Social Services Org.

    Workers at a San Francisco-based social services nonprofit can proceed with their union representation election, a National Labor Relations Board official has ruled, rejecting the employer's bid to exclude some employees from the vote on the grounds that they exercise supervisory power.

  • September 10, 2024

    Professor Wins £72K After University Botches Redundancy

    An employment tribunal has ordered a university to pay £72,487 ($94,800) to an English professor after it failed to restart a redundancy process despite changing its proposal to staff in a major way.

  • September 10, 2024

    Ballot Selfie Can't Tank Cannabis Firm Election, Union Argues

    A United Food and Commercial Workers union local blasted a Massachusetts cannabis dispensary for trying to throw out a union election based on one worker's voluntary photograph of his ballot, telling the National Labor Relations Board that its precedent supports tossing only that vote and not the whole election.

  • September 10, 2024

    Retention Bonus Not Wages Under Mass. Law, Court Finds

    A retention bonus does not count as wages under Massachusetts' wage laws because it is a form of "contingent compensation," a state appellate division court ruled.

  • September 09, 2024

    Mich. Judge Denies Injunction Bid In NLRB Constitutional Row

    An auto parts maker didn't prove the company would be harmed when facing an unfair labor practice proceeding before National Labor Relations Board officials with allegedly unconstitutional removal protections, a Michigan federal judge ruled Monday, while greenlighting a delay to the agency case pending an appeal. 

  • September 09, 2024

    Aramark Unit Must Arbitrate CBA Fight With Calif. Teamsters

    Aramark's uniform supplier unit must arbitrate a dispute with a pair of Teamsters locals over whether workers at two California facilities became covered by a regional collective bargaining agreement when the company acquired them, a California federal judge has ruled, siding with the unions.

  • September 09, 2024

    Starbucks Broke Labor Law With Subpoenas, NLRB Says

    Starbucks unlawfully issued subpoenas seeking details about workers' union activities at a California cafe, the National Labor Relations Board found, upholding an agency judge's determinations that there must be a balance between the rights of the coffee chain and those of the employees when seeking this information.

  • September 09, 2024

    Mich. Hospital Unlawfully Ousted Union, NLRB Judge Says

    A Michigan hospital illegally withdrew recognition from a Service Employees International Union local based on a questionable disaffection petition after launching several attacks on the union, a National Labor Relations Board judge ruled, saying the hospital must resume working with the union.

Expert Analysis

  • The Risks Of Employee Political Discourse On Social Media

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    As election season enters its final stretch and employees increasingly engage in political speech on social media, employers should beware the liability risks and consider policies that negotiate the line between employees' rights and the limits on those rights, say Bradford Kelley and James McGehee at Littler.

  • Proposed Law Would Harm NYC Hospitality Industry

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    A recently proposed New York City Law that would update hotel licensing and staff coverage requirements could give the city commissioner and unions undue control over the city's hospitality industry, and harm smaller hotels that cannot afford full-time employees, says Stuart Saft at Holland & Knight.

  • US Labor And Employment Law Holds Some Harsh Trade-Offs

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    U.S. labor and employment laws have evolved into a product of exposure-capping compromise, which merits discussion in a presidential election year when the dialogue has focused on purported protections of middle-class workers, says Reuben Guttman at Guttman Buschner.

  • Water Cooler Talk: Immigration Insights From 'The Proposal'

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    Tracey Diamond and Evan Gibbs at Troutman Pepper chat with their colleague Robert Lee about how immigration challenges highlighted in the romantic comedy "The Proposal" — beyond a few farcical plot contrivances — relate to real-world visa processes and employer compliance.

  • Insuring Lender's Baseball Bet Leads To Major League Dispute

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    In RockFence v. Lloyd's, a California federal court seeks to define who qualifies as a professional baseball player for purposes of an insurance coverage payout, providing an illuminating case study of potential legal issues arising from baseball service loans, say Marshall Gilinsky and Seán McCabe at Anderson Kill.

  • Preparing For The NLRB's New Union Recognition Final Rule

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    The National Labor Relations Board's impending new final rule on union recognition puts the employer at a particular disadvantage in a decertification election, and best practices include conducting workplace assessments to identify and proactively address employee issues, say Louis Cannon and Gerald Bradner at Baker Donelson.

  • The Big Issues A BigLaw Associates' Union Could Address

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    A BigLaw associates’ union could address a number of issues that have the potential to meaningfully improve working conditions, diversity and attorney well-being — from restructured billable hour requirements to origination credit allocation, return-to-office mandates and more, says Tara Rhoades at The Sanity Plea.

  • It's Time For A BigLaw Associates' Union

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    As BigLaw faces a steady stream of criticism about its employment policies and practices, an associates union could effect real change — and it could start with law students organizing around opposition to recent recruiting trends, says Tara Rhoades at The Sanity Plea.

  • Key Steps To Employer Petitions For Union Elections

    Excerpt from Practical Guidance
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    Since the National Labor Relations Board shifted the burden of requesting formal union elections onto employers in its Cemex decision last year — and raised the stakes for employer missteps during the process — companies should be prepared to correctly file representation management election petitions and respond to union demands for recognition, says Adam Keating at Duane Morris.

  • Focus On Political Stances May Weaken Labor Unions

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    Recent lawsujits and a bill pending in the U.S. House of Representatives call attention to the practice of labor unions taking political stances with which their members disagree — an issue that may weaken unions, and that employers should stay abreast of, given its implications for labor organizing campaigns, workplace morale and collective bargaining, says Daniel Johns at Cozen O'Connor.

  • NLRB Ruling Highlights Rare Union Deauthorization Process

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    A recent National Labor Relations Board decision about a guard company's union authorization revocation presents a ripe opportunity for employees to review the particulars of this uncommon process, and employer compliance is critical as well, say Megann McManus and Trecia Moore at Husch Blackwell.

  • Latest 'Nuclear Verdict' Underscores Jury-Trial Employer Risk

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    A Los Angeles Superior Court jury's recent $900 million verdict in a high-profile sexual assault and harassment case illustrates the increase in so-called nuclear verdicts in employment cases, and the need for employers to explore alternative methods of resolving disputes, say Anthony Oncidi and Morgan Peterson at Proskauer.

  • After Chevron: What Loper Bright Portends For The NLRB

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    While the U.S. Supreme Court has a long history of deferring to the National Labor Relations Board's readings of federal labor law, the court's Loper Bright v. Raimondo decision forces courts to take a harder look at the judgment of an agency — and the NLRB will not be immune from such greater scrutiny, says Irving Geslewitz at Much Shelist.