Labor

  • March 11, 2024

    Biden Proffers $320M NLRB Budget, 'Penalties For Employers'

    President Joe Biden proposed a bump in the National Labor Relations Board's budget to $320 million for the following fiscal year, the White House revealed Monday, presenting another potential increase for the board and "significantly increasing penalties for employers."

  • March 11, 2024

    Activision Workers Unionize With CWA After Neutrality Deal

    Microsoft recognized the Communications Workers of America as the representative of Activision quality assurance employees following a vote count, the union announced, highlighting the parties' agreement that the tech giant remain neutral during organizing campaigns.

  • March 09, 2024

    NLRB's Joint Employer Rule Struck Down By Texas Judge

    A Texas federal judge late Friday struck down a 2023 National Labor Relations Board rule that made it harder for employers to show they are not joint employers, restoring a Trump-era rule that eased the test. 

  • March 08, 2024

    2 Calif. Union Dues Cases Echo Janus Ruling, 9th Circ. Told

    An attorney for an anti-union think tank urged the Ninth Circuit on Friday to revive a pair of lawsuits alleging his public sector employee clients' constitutional rights were violated by union dues being collected against their will, likening the cases to the U.S. Supreme Court's landmark 2018 Janus ruling.

  • March 08, 2024

    Union Urges Affirming Reinstatement Award Over Pot Test

    An aircraft mechanics union has asked a Washington federal judge to back an arbitration board's decision ordering Alaska Airlines to reinstate a unionized worker who testified positive for marijuana, saying the award was properly based on the parties' labor contract.

  • March 08, 2024

    Dartmouth Hoops Union Could Touch Off Legal Madness

    A recent vote by the Dartmouth College men's basketball team to form a union could set the stage for the next round of litigation in shaping the rights of collegiate athletes, but experts told Law360 some steep obstacles could stand in the way of a breakthrough ruling that turns student athletes into full-fledged employees.

  • March 08, 2024

    Union Says YouTube Music Workers' Job Loss Was Retaliation

    The Communications Workers of America-affiliated Alphabet Workers Union said Friday it has filed an unfair labor practice charge against Google and Cognizant, accusing them of laying off YouTube Music's union-represented content operations team in retaliation for organizing.

  • March 08, 2024

    Worker's LinkedIn Outreach Is Protected, NLRB Tells 5th Circ.

    The Fifth Circuit should uphold a National Labor Relations Board decision finding a worker's LinkedIn message complaining about wages to a customer is protected under federal labor law, the board argued, challenging a logistics company's claims that the worker was lawfully fired.

  • March 08, 2024

    Off The Bench: Dartmouth Union, Iowa Betting Case Folds

    In this week's Off The Bench, Dartmouth College men's basketball players vote to unionize over the school's objections, a probe into Iowa State University athletes' gambling activities fizzles amid warrantless search allegations, and a Wimbledon champion gets her doping suspension reduced. If you were on the sidelines over the past week, Law360 is here to clue you in on the biggest sports and betting stories that had our readers talking.

  • March 08, 2024

    DOL Says Ousting Union Fund Trustees Is Right Move

    The Seventh Circuit should allow an injunction ousting two trustees from a fraud-plagued union benefit fund to take effect, the U.S. Department of Labor told the court, urging it to deny the trustees' bid to stay the injunction.

  • March 08, 2024

    Colorado Firm Must Face Atty's Claim Over Alleged Retaliation

    A Colorado state judge has ruled that a personal injury firm that sued a former attorney for allegedly trying to dodge a prior judgment must face her counterclaim accusing the firm of filing a retaliatory action after she accused it of unfair labor practices.

  • March 08, 2024

    Calif. Union Pension Plan Strikes Deal In Early Retirement Suit

    A California metalworkers' pension plan and its fund manager agreed to end a proposed class action alleging over two dozen retirees had their pension payments slashed even though they were promised full benefits when they retired early, according to an order issued Friday in federal court.

  • March 08, 2024

    SpaceX Tells 5th Circ. To Rethink Transfer Of NLRB Case

    The Fifth Circuit must reconsider its decision over the transfer of SpaceX's National Labor Relations Board constitutionality challenge from Texas to California, the rocket company argued, saying the appeals court has to fix the lower court's incorrect application of a venue standard.

  • March 08, 2024

    Calif. Forecast: Apple Wants Claim Gone From Age Bias Suit

    In the coming week, attorneys should keep an eye out for a potential ruling on a bid to dismiss part of a former Apple executive's age discrimination lawsuit. Here's a look at that case and other labor and employment matters on deck in California.

  • March 08, 2024

    Maryland Longshoreman's Bias Suit Survives Dismissal Bids

    A Black longshoreman can move forward with a discrimination suit against his union and a company that staffs the Port of Baltimore, a Maryland federal judge ruled, trimming a few time-barred claims but keeping a significant chunk of the litigation alive.

  • March 07, 2024

    Biden Touts Wage Increases In State Of The Union

    President Joe Biden on Thursday during his third State of the Union address celebrated rising wages for workers, while urging Congress to raise the federal minimum wage and pass labor legislation.

  • March 07, 2024

    Wash. Justices Won't Hear Unions' Wage Clawback Case

    Washington's highest court has rejected three unions' request for justices to decide how private employers may respond when they erroneously overpay employees, clearing the way for a jury to hear the case contesting a healthcare system's wage clawback after its payroll system was hit by a cyberattack.

  • March 07, 2024

    Hallmark Movie Maker Illegally Canned Strikers, NLRB Says

    Two Hallmark movie production companies violated federal labor law, the National Labor Relations Board said Thursday, with one firing nine strikers and threatening to move to Canada and another interrogating and silencing a worker amid a union drive.

  • March 07, 2024

    Chemical Co. Says Arbitrator Set 'Impossible' Rule In Union Fight

    A chemical manufacturer has asked a Texas federal court to undo an arbitration award in favor of a former employee accused of using his union to gain confidential information from the company's investigation into his behavior, saying the arbitrator "fashioned a legal standard that makes it nearly impossible" for companies to monitor workplace investigations.

  • March 07, 2024

    5th Circ. Backs NLRB On Nurse Fired Over COVID Complaints

    The Fifth Circuit upheld on Thursday a National Labor Relations Board ruling finding a Texas home health company unlawfully fired a nurse who raised concerns about the company's handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, but cleared the company on the claim that it barred workers from discussing wages.

  • March 07, 2024

    NYC Can't Duck Unionized Workers' Wage, Retaliation Claims

    The city of New York must face the bulk of a group of unionized workers' claims that they were illegally denied raises after assuming new positions, as a New York federal judge ruled that the workers had constitutional rights to timely pay and union association.

  • March 07, 2024

    Luxury Electric Carmaker Reaches Deal Over Severance Pact

    A luxury electric carmaker settled a claim over the lawfulness of a nondisparagement clause in its severance agreement, a National Labor Relations Board spokesperson said Thursday, with the company agreeing to post a notice about workers' rights.

  • March 07, 2024

    Julie Su Talks Year As Acting Labor Secretary, Biden Nom

    Over the past year, Julie Su has served as acting labor secretary while also awaiting Senate confirmation to continue leading the U.S. Department of Labor, despite Republican opposition. Su spoke with Law360 about her year as acting secretary, what’s next for the DOL and her prolonged Senate confirmation fight.

  • March 07, 2024

    Teamsters Can't Raise Claims Over Prehire Pacts, Judge Says

    A district court doesn't have jurisdiction over the Teamsters' challenge to prehire employment agreements with two airlines providing for incentive payments to newly hired pilots, an Indiana federal judge ruled, saying the parties' collective bargaining agreements arguably give the companies the right to issue the incentives.

  • March 07, 2024

    NLRB Resolves Unions' Jurisdictional Dispute At Boston Hotel

    Workers represented by the North Atlantic States Regional Council of Carpenters may install shower door enclosures at a Boston project site, the National Labor Relations Board ruled, rejecting two International Union of Painters and Allied Trades affiliates' claims that the disputed work should go to their members.

Expert Analysis

  • NLRB GC Brief Portends Hefty Labor Law Transformation

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    In just one recent brief, the National Labor Relations Board’s general counsel asked the board to overturn at least five precedents, providing a detailed map of where the law may change in the near future, including union-friendly shifts in rules for captive audience meetings and work email use, says Daniel Johns at Cozen O'Connor.

  • New NLRB Union Rules Require Proactive Employer Response

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    Because recent radical changes to National Labor Relations Board unionization rules, decided in the case of Cemex Construction Materials, may speed up elections or result in more mandatory bargaining orders, employers should make several significant, practical edits to their playbooks for navigating union organizing and certification, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • Eye On Compliance: Women's Soccer Puts Equal Pay In Focus

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    As the U.S. Women's National Team returns from World Cup, employers can honor the fighting spirit of the athletes — which won them a historic gender pay equality settlement in 2022 — by reviewing federal equal pay compliance requirements and committing to a level playing field for all genders, says Christina Heischmidt at Wilson Elser.

  • Joint Employer Considerations After NLRB's Google Ruling

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    Following the National Labor Relations Board's recent decision that Google is a joint employer of its independent contractor's employees, Matthew Green and Daniel Unterburger at Obermayer Rebmann offer practice tips to help companies preemptively assess the risks and broader implications of the decision to engage contractors.

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

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    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

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    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

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    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

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    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

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    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

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    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

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    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

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    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

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    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.

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