By Porter Wright on Recently, Governor Mike DeWine signed House Bill 81 which contains several changes to workers’ compensation laws. Most significantly, the bill contains a provision that will codify the common law voluntary abandonment doctrine. This provision should ensure that injured workers do not receive certain disability benefits if their loss of income is not related to the … Continue Reading
By Rebecca Kopp Levine on Many people exercise daily, and for Shannan McDonald, her exercise was prescribed by her physician for her genetic disorder. McDonald, employed as a receptionist for UAW-GM Center for Human Resources (CHR), regularly exercised in her employer’s on-site gym during her lunch break. Per the collective bargaining agreement that covered her employment, each year CHR permitted … Continue Reading
By Arslan Sheikh on The Obama-era NLRB sometimes gave employers fits with decisions and guidance concerning employer work rules. It was common for the Obama-era Board to strike down fairly common, neutral work rules, often based on the idea that employees might interpret the rules to restrict employee rights. It did not take long for Trump-era NLRB appointees, however, … Continue Reading
By Jourdan Day on After Republicans regained control of the majority seats on the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB or the board) for the first time in nearly nine years, the majority has swiftly reset the board’s tone. Recently, the NLRB has been busy taking steps to undo some of the more labor and employee friendly standards and opinions … Continue Reading
By Brian Hall on In an en banc decision, the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has overturned an earlier panel decision, which we reported on here, in MikLin Enterprises Inc. v. NLRB, in which the panel had upheld the NLRB’s finding that a Jimmy John’s franchisee had violated the rights of its employees under the National Labor Relations Act, … Continue Reading
By Porter Wright on Employers beware…it may be time yet again to review your handbooks to make sure that your policies do not violate the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). A National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) judge recently ordered several Verizon Wireless stores to strike certain employee handbook policies. In all, the decision means Verizon Wireless must strike 10 … Continue Reading
By Mike Underwood on Much has been written recently about the first 100 days of the Trump Administration. Some would argue that little of significance has changed in the employment regulation world. But, the confirmation on April 27, 2017 of new Secretary of Labor R. Alexander Acosta squeaked through the door just before the first 100 days concluded and … Continue Reading
By Brian Hall on As he tends to remind us on a regular basis, Donald Trump won the presidential election back in November 2016. But that doesn’t mean that National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) policy turns on a dime. The Board has only three members at this time with Member Philip Miscimarra (R) in the role of Acting Chairman … Continue Reading
By Porter Wright on A special thanks to Adam Bennett for his assistance with this article. Election Day is quickly approaching. Rejoice! There really is a light at the end of the tunnel when the endless stream of attack ads will cease to exist. But before the last ballot is cast, the last precinct closes and the final votes … Continue Reading
By Porter Wright on The federal Department of Labor (DOL) has issued an updated poster for the “Employee Rights Under the Fair Labor Standards Act” poster, which is a federally required poster. The updated poster adds information on the rights of nursing mothers (to lactation breaks) under the FLSA, misclassification issues related to independent contractors and tip credits. In … Continue Reading
By Franck Wobst on A special thanks to summer clerk Arslan Sheikh for his assistance with this article On June 27th, 2016, a federal district court in Texas issued a preliminary injunction, temporarily blocking the Department of Labor’s (DOL) new interpretation of the “Persuader Rule.” This injunction, which is national in scope, is a big win for employers and … Continue Reading
By Franck Wobst on As we previously reported, the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) new “Persuader Rule” is set to take effect July 1, 2016. The rule is highly controversial because it requires employers and labor relations consultants, including attorneys, to file reports with the DOL regarding any arrangements to assist the employer in “persuading” employees regarding their rights … Continue Reading
By Brian Hall on In a 2-1 decision, the 8th Circuit on March 25th in MikLin Enterprises, Inc., v. National Labor Relations Board enforced an NLRB Order finding that a Jimmy John’s franchisee violated Sections 8(a)(1) and (3) of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) when it fired six employees for participating in a poster campaign designed to focus … Continue Reading
By Franck Wobst on Thinking about having an employment relations consultant or attorney meet with your managers and supervisors for a union avoidance session? If so, you may want to have it scheduled to take place prior to July 1, 2016. According to a new rule issued by the Department of Labor (DOL), any union avoidance seminars conducted for … Continue Reading
By Porter Wright on In prior posts (Are you a “joint employer” with your temporary staff supplier? The National Labor Relations Board says “Yes,” and ; NLRB poised to relax standard for establishing joint employment; may mean more union issues in franchising and temporary service worker deals ), we wrote about decisions by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) … Continue Reading
By Porter Wright on Within the last month, courts have taken steps to protect communications made via social media. For example, in Ehling v. Monmouth-Ocean Hospital Service Corp., No. 2:11-cv-03305 (D.N.J. Aug 20, 2013), which we reported on here, the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey held that private Facebook posts are protected under the Stored Communications Act. On the heels of that decision, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals in Bland v. Roberts, 12-1671 (4th Cir. Sept. 18, 2013) overturned a district court decision that had held that public employees' Facebook "Likes" were not protected speech under the First Amendment. (Remember of course, that public employees, unlike the employees of private businesses, have limited First Amendment rights to speak out on matters of public concern.)… Continue Reading
By Brian Hall on Last month, the Sixth Circuit in Kindred Nursing Centers East, LLC v. NLRB enforced the National Labor Relations Board's 2011 Specialty Healthcare II decision in which the Board adopted a controversial test opening the door for unions to organize "micro" bargaining units of employees despite employer evidence that additional employees share a community of interest with those employees and therefore should be added to the unit.… Continue Reading
By Porter Wright on The National Labor Relations Board Office of the General Counsel released an Advice Memorandum in Tasker Healthcare Group, d/b/a Skinsmart Dermatology ("Tasker") Case 04-CA-094222 on May 16, 2013 and concluded that an employee was not engaged in protected concerted activity when she posted comments to a Facebook group message that taunted her employer to "FIRE … Continue Reading
By Mike Underwood on Recently, we pointed out that the effort by the National Labor Relations Board to impose on all employers an obligation to post notices about union organizing rights remains stalled. That article resulted in some questions about whether federal contractors and subcontractors are still required to post a notice about union organizing.… Continue Reading
By Mike Underwood on It has been almost a year since there was news to report about the NLRB proposed rule requiring employers to post notices about union organizing rights. As you might recall, the NLRB issued the rule in the fall of 2011 and it caused immediate controversy. Many in the business community considered the posting an unwarranted … Continue Reading
By Porter Wright on First it was Wisconsin. Then Indiana. Then Michigan of all places. Right-to-work legislation is being considered, and in some cases passed, by legislatures throughout the Rust Belt. Given that trend, and the economic benefits to businesses and the state that follow with right-to-work, it was only a matter of time before regional pressures led the Ohio legislature to consider the idea notwithstanding the previously failed attempts on Senate Bill 5.… Continue Reading
By Porter Wright on The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has issued its third Facebook firing decision. In Design Technology Group LLC dba Bettie Page Clothing (Case No. 20-CA-035511, 359 NLRB No. 96), the Board found that the employer, a clothing store, violated Section 8(a)(1) of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) by discharging three employees for engaging in what … Continue Reading
By Brian Hall on Back in August, we alerted you to an NLRB decision in Banner Health System dba Banner Estrella Medical Center and James A. Navarro, Case No. 28-CA-023438, in which the Board held that an employer’s blanket rule requiring employees to maintain the confidentiality of pending internal company investigations violated the employees’ Section 7 right to discuss … Continue Reading
By Porter Wright on On the heels of three memoranda from its General Counsel, multiple ALJ decisions, and even one or two decisions of the full Board addressing employer social media and communications policies over the last couple of years, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB)’s decision last week in DirecTV, which held that DirectTV’s policies restricting certain employee … Continue Reading