Labor

Expert Analysis

• What's Notable In Connecticut's New Cannabis Laws

  

  The Connecticut Legislature recently passed four bills containing cannabis provisions — ranging from applicable tax credits to labor agreement requirements — that may prove to be a mixed bag for state operators, say Sarah Westby and Deanna McWeeney at Shipman & Goodwin.

• Employer Use Of Electronic Monitoring Is Not An OSHA Issue

  

  A recent Law360 guest article asserted that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration must begin work on regulating electronic monitoring of employee performance because it can contribute to higher rates of injuries and mental stress, but electronic monitoring simply is not a recognized hazard, says Lawrence Halprin at Keller and Heckman.

• Takeaways From NLRB's New Workplace Rule Standards

  

  Following a recent National Labor Relations Board decision that allows for increased scrutiny of workplace rules, employers will want to analyze whether any policies could reasonably dissuade employees from engaging in concerted activity, as the bar for proving a legitimate business interest has been raised, say attorneys at Taft Stettinius.

• Water Cooler Talk: 'The Bear' Serves Up Advice For Managers

  

  Tracey Diamond and Evan Gibbs at Troutman Pepper chat with Ernst & Young’s Laura Yehuda about Hulu's "The Bear" and the best practices managers can glean from the show's portrayal of workplace challenges, including those faced by young, female managers.

• Recalling USWNT's Legal PR Playbook Amid World Cup Bid

  

  As the U.S. Women's National Soccer Team strives to take home another World Cup trophy, their 2022 pay equity settlement with the U.S. Soccer Federation serves as a good reminder that winning in the court of public opinion can be more powerful than a victory inside the courtroom, says Hector Valle at Vianovo.

• The Issues Brewing Around Starbucks Labor Practice Cases

  

  Starbucks is faced with fighting off another push for a nationwide injunction against firing any employees that support unionization, and there's a distinct possibility that the company and the National Labor Relations Board could be fighting the same fight over and over in various locations, says Janette Levey at Levey Law.

• Employer Tips For Fighting Back Against Explosive Verdicts

  

  Massive jury verdicts are a product of our time, driven in part by reptile tactics, but employers can build a strategic defense to mitigate the risk of a runaway jury, and develop tools to seek judicial relief in the event of an adverse outcome, say Dawn Solowey and Lynn Kappelman at Seyfarth.

• Handbook Hot Topics: Changing Status Quo In A Union Shop

  

  A recent administrative law decision concerning a dispute between Fortune Media and the NewsGuild of New York is an important reminder to employers with unionized workforces to refrain from making unilateral updates to employee handbooks that will change the terms and conditions of employment, says Jennifer Hataway at Butler Snow.

• Eye On Compliance: A Shift In Religious Accommodation Law

  

  The recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Groff v. DeJoy is making it more difficult for employers to deny religious accommodations, and there are three takeaways employers should keep in mind, say William Cook and Matthew High at Wilson Elser.

• Conflicting NLRB Stances Create Employer Compliance Plight

  

  Contradictory positions set forth by the National Labor Relations Board’s general counsel — asserted in a recent unfair labor practice judgment against CVS and a pending case against Starbucks — place employers in a no-win dilemma when deciding whether they can provide wage and benefit improvements to both union and nonunion employees, says Alice Stock at Bond Schoeneck.

• Biden Admin Must Take Action On Worker Surveillance

  

  As companies increasingly use electronic surveillance to monitor employees, speed up work and quash organizing efforts, the Biden administration should use its well-established regulatory authority to study the problem and protect worker safety, say Matt Scherer at the Center for Democracy and Technology, and Reed Shaw at Governing for Impact.

• Novel NLRB Action Highlights Aggressive Noncompete Stance

  

  While a first-of-its-kind noncompete complaint filed by the National Labor Relations Board general counsel against a Michigan cannabis processor recently resulted in a private settlement, the action shows how broadly the general counsel views her authority over such covenants and how vigorously she intends to exercise it, say Erik Weibust and Erin Schaefer at Epstein Becker.

• New NLRB Bench Book Is An Important Read For Practitioners

  

  Though the National Labor Relations Board's Bench Book is aimed at administrative law judges who adjudicate unfair labor practice hearings, key updates in its 2023 edition offer crucial reading for anyone who handles charges before the agency, say David Pryzbylski and Thomas Payne at Barnes & Thornburg.