NLRB General Counsel Report Addresses Several Questions Posed at ABA Meeting

by Ilyse Schuman on March 29, 2013

report3.JPGA new Report issued by Acting NLRB General Counsel (GC) Lafe Solomon responds to a number of practice and procedural questions related to Board operations posed by labor attorneys during a recent American Bar Association Midwinter Meeting. The report answers questions related to unfair labor practice charges, Board rulemaking, employer social media policies, and representation election procedures, among other topics. Highlights of the report are as follows:

Social Media and Handbook/Policy Cases

According to Solomon, there are no immediate plans for the Board to issue another report governing social media, at-will employment, confidentiality, or other employer rules/policies. The Board also does not have any plans to develop regulations regarding social media policies.

With respect to the class action arbitration waiver invalidation issue presented in D.R. Horton, Inc., the Report notes that there are 29 pending cases that raise D.R. Horton issues.

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House Committee Report Contains Sharp Criticism of NLRB

by Ilyse Schuman on December 17, 2012

report3.JPGLast week the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform released a staff report highlighting rulemaking, decisions, and other actions taken in recent years by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB or “Board”) that the Committee contends are indicative of the agency’s pro-union bias. Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) chairs the Committee. The report – President Obama’s Pro-Union Board: The NLRB’s Metamorphosis from Independent Regulator to Dysfunctional Union Advocate (pdf) – claims that these legislative, regulatory, and internal missteps “compromise the perceived fairness of the NLRB that Congress deemed necessary for its successful operation,” and have created a “rogue agency plagued by systemic problems.” The 33-page report touched on a number of perceived faults with the Board’s operation and decision-making process, including the following:

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NLRB's Acting General Counsel Issues Third Guidance Document on Social Media and Approves One Policy

by Labor Management Relations Practice Group on June 11, 2012

social media.jpgOn May 30, 2012, the National Labor Relations Board's Acting General Counsel issued his third guidance document on social media since August 2011. In that report, he took the opportunity to approve one employer's social media policy, a move that finally provides employers clear guidance in connection with the regulation of this rapidly evolving area of the law. The Acting GC's guidance, which was published in the form of an Operations Management Memorandum, was accompanied by an Advice Memorandum in Walmart, Case No. 11-CA-067171. It is in this case that the agency articulated its reasoning and found, for the first time, a social media policy that was acceptable in its entirety. To learn more about the guidance and its potential implications for employers, please continue reading Littler's ASAP, Three's a Charm: NLRB’s Acting General Counsel Issues Third Guidance Document on Social Media and Approves One Policy, by Philip Gordon.

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New Littler Blog: Employee Benefits Counsel

by Labor Management Relations Practice Group on November 30, 2011

We are pleased to announce a new addition to Littler’s blogroll:

Employee Benefits Counsel

Brought to you by Littler's Employee Benefits, ERISA and Benefit Plan Litigation, and Executive Compensation practice groups, this blog covers:

  • Legislative and regulatory developments in the employee benefits arena, including the topics of health care reform; plan design and administration; employee benefits litigation; and
  • Executive compensation, providing insight and analysis on legal developments that warrant discussion. 

During this time of significant governmental change and shifts in the strategy and style of benefits litigation, Littler's depth of experience in employee benefits, litigation, and executive compensation matters gives our attorneys a distinctly broad perspective with which to provide insight and useful analysis of the latest developments. To subscribe to receive email alerts of new blog posts, please enter your email address in the Subscribe box on the right side of the Employee Benefits Counsel blog homepage.

NLRB Extends Employee Rights Notice Posting Rule Implementation Date

by Stefan Marculewicz on October 05, 2011

Delayed3.JPGEmployers will now have until January 31, 2012 to comply with the National Labor Relations Board’s notice posting rule: Notification of Employee Rights under the National Labor Relations Act. This rule, which was slated to take effect as of November 14, 2011, mandates that all private sector employers subject to the NLRA post a notice informing employees of their rights under the NLRA in a “conspicuous place” readily seen by employees and penalizes employers for non-compliance. Last month, the NLRB made available a copy of the required poster as well as a list of frequently asked questions about the rule.

According to a press release announcing the extension:

The decision to extend the rollout period followed queries from businesses and trade organizations indicating uncertainty about which businesses fall under the Board’s jurisdiction, and was made in the interest of ensuring broad voluntary compliance. No other changes in the rule, or in the form or content of the notice, will be made.

The rule itself is facing both legislative and legal challenges. Notably, the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) has filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to nullify the rule. A hearing on motions for summary judgment is set for December 19, 2011. The court is expected to issue a decision on these motions before the rule’s new effective date.

For more information on the NLRB’s notice posting requirement, see Littler’s ASAP: NLRB Issues Final Rule Requiring Employers to Post a Notice Informing Employees of Their Rights Under the NLRA by Gavin Appleby and Tracy Stott Pyles. In addition, Littler invites you to a complimentary webinar on the new rule and its workplace implications.

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NLRB Defines New Standard for Determining Appropriate Bargaining Units

by Labor Management Relations Practice Group on September 15, 2011

nurse lifting patient.jpgMarking the end of Chairman Wilma Liebman's term, the National Labor Relations Board issued three significant decisions at the end of August that overturn long-standing Board precedent. In what may be the most significant of the three, a decision involving the healthcare industry, the Board paved the way for the proliferation of bargaining units by overruling its 1991 decision in Park Manor Care Center, 305 NLRB 872 (1991), and determining that certified nursing assistants ("CNAs") comprise an appropriate stand-alone bargaining unit. Although it involved a nursing home, the Board's decision is not limited to the healthcare industry and fundamentally changes the standard for determining appropriate bargaining units applicable to all employers.  Continue reading this article here.

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NLRB Issues Final Employee Rights Notice Posting Rule

by Labor Management Relations Practice Group on August 31, 2011

push pin.jpgOn August 25, 2011, the National Labor Relations Board issued a final rule entitled Notification of Employee Rights under the National Labor Relations Act. The rule mandates that private sector employers subject to the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) post a notice informing employees of their rights under the NLRA in a "conspicuous place" readily seen by employees and penalizes employers for non-compliance. This new obligation applies to virtually all private sector employers, regardless of whether or not their workforces are unionized and regardless of whether they are federal contractors. The rule was published in the Federal Register on August 30, 2011 and will be effective 75 days later, on November 14, 2011. For more information on this rule and employer requirements, continue reading Littler’s ASAP: NLRB Issues Final Rule Requiring Employers to Post a Notice Informing Employees of Their Rights Under the NLRA by Gavin Appleby and Tracy Stott Pyles.

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OLMS to Contact Employers and Their Attorneys Regarding Persuader Agreement Reporting Obligations

by Todd M. Nierman on February 18, 2011

checklist2.JPGThe DOL’s Office of Labor Management Standards (OLMS) has announced the initiation of its Persuader Reporting Orientation Program (PROP). According to the agency, this program is “designed to provide compliance assistance to employers and labor relations consultants that are likely to enter into reportable agreements or arrangements pursuant to LMRDA section 203.” Specifically, under this initiative, the OLMS compiles contact information of employers and their attorneys based on representation petitions filed with the NLRB. The OLMS will then use this information to send an orientation letter to the employers and to their representatives in the NLRB proceeding “informing them of their potential reporting obligations under the LMRDA, where to locate the reporting forms and instructions, and how to contact OLMS to ask questions or receive additional information.”

Section 203 requires an employer to report on Form LM-10 any agreement or arrangement with a third-party consultant to persuade employees regarding their collective bargaining rights or to gather certain information about employee activities or a labor organization in connection with a labor dispute. The labor relations consultant must report on Form LM-20 information about such an agreement or arrangement. Currently, the LMRDA provides for certain “advice” exemptions from these reporting requirements. As explained by the OLMS, these exemptions “provide, in part, that no report is required covering the services of a consultant or other person by reason of his or her giving or agreeing to give advice to such employer, or representing or agreeing to represent the employer in administrative, arbitral, or court proceedings or in collective bargaining.” More information on the various disclosure forms can be found here.

During a recent web chat to discuss the OLMS’s regulatory agenda, OLMS Director John Lund said that the agency intends to publish a proposed rule by June of this year that would narrow the scope of the advice exemption and expand persuader reporting under Section 203. If the new regulations are enacted in the manner expected, they could significantly impair employer speech rights and the right to legal counsel during union organizing campaigns.

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Board Decision Approves Stationary Bannering as Lawful Tactic in Secondary Boycotts

by Jack Lambremont on September 03, 2010

strike sign2.JPGThe National Labor Relations Board on August 27, 2010, issued its long-awaited decision in a trio of cases involving the use of stationary banners by unions to advertise secondary boycott activity to the public. In a 3-2 decision split along partisan lines, the Board majority (Chairman Liebman and Members Becker and Pearce) concluded that bannering, when conducted peaceably and independent of other, possibly coercive, conduct, does not violate Section 8(b)(4)(ii)(B) of the National Labor Relations Act ( the “Act”). The decision in United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America, Local Union No. 1506, 355 NLRB No. 159 (2010) has the practical effect of broadening the arsenal of weapons organized labor can bring to bear to force a primary employer in a labor dispute to yield to union demands. As a result, the decision may signal an increase in the frequency of secondary boycott activity and the embroiling of neutral employers in labor disputes not of their own making.

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