Labor

  • May 15, 2024

    2nd Circ. Calls Starbucks' Union Discovery Order 'Overbroad'

    The Second Circuit on Wednesday revived the National Labor Relations Board's suit seeking to halt Starbucks' alleged labor violations nationwide, finding that the lower court erred in tossing the suit for noncompliance with its "overbroad" discovery order granting the coffee chain's subpoenas seeking confidential union intel and workers' communications.

  • May 15, 2024

    Walmart Illegally Barred Discipline Talk, NLRB Judge Says

    Walmart illegally forbade a worker in Louisiana from talking about his discipline with other colleagues, a National Labor Relations Board judge ruled Wednesday, telling the company to stop threatening employees who may discuss disciplinary meetings.

  • May 15, 2024

    Teamsters Defend Rehire Order In Dispute With Welch's

    A Welch's factory employee who was fired after being falsely accused of sexual harassment five years ago has waited long enough to be rehired, a Teamsters local argued in Pennsylvania federal court, urging a district judge to uphold an arbitrator's reinstatement order in accordance with a magistrate judge's recommendation.

  • May 15, 2024

    NLRB Attys Fight Union Sanctions In Strike Replacement Case

    A U.S. Department of Justice attorney urged the Seventh Circuit on Wednesday to reject a union's bid to sanction National Labor Relations Board attorneys in a case over labor law violations at a quarry, saying the contention that the union waived a key argument doesn't warrant such an "extreme measure."

  • May 15, 2024

    Barge Co. Seeks To Block 'Hot Cargo' Union Arbitration

    A barge company urged an Alaska federal judge to stop International Longshore and Warehouse Union local affiliates from arbitrating over a work preservation dispute, telling the court that a prior arbitration award established an agreement that makes the company hire union members.

  • May 14, 2024

    Venable Opens Colo. Office With 8 Sherman & Howard Attys

    Venable LLP is growing its presence by opening its first office in Colorado, with eight commercial and employment attorneys from Sherman & Howard LLP opening its Denver location, which will be headed by partner-in-charge James "Jim" Sawtelle, the firm announced Tuesday.

  • May 14, 2024

    Co. Illegally Placed Manure Near Union Picket, NLRB Says

    The National Labor Relations Board concluded Tuesday that an Illinois concrete producer violated federal labor law by putting manure near an area where an International Union of Operating Engineers local was picketing, granting agency attorneys' motion for default judgment.

  • May 14, 2024

    Colo. Org Lacks Standing In Access Law Row, Judge Says

    The Colorado Livestock Association doesn't have standing to challenge a state law that requires agricultural employers to give workers access to service providers, a state judge ruled, finding individual members of the group must take part in the proceeding.

  • May 14, 2024

    Healthcare Labor Activity Reaches Historic Healthcare Union

    Surging union activity in the healthcare industry has reached a new front: employees of the nation's largest healthcare union.

  • May 14, 2024

    Kraft Heinz Seeks To Ax Teamsters' Retiree Benefit Grievance

    Kraft Heinz asked a Delaware federal judge Tuesday to step in and stop a Teamsters unit's healthcare grievance from going to arbitration, saying the union must use the dispute resolution process outlined in the company healthcare plan, not the grievance and arbitration process outlined in the union contract.

  • May 14, 2024

    7th Circ. Seems Wary Of Jurisdiction Over Union Fund Misuse

    Two Seventh Circuit judges on Tuesday pressed the U.S. Department of Labor to address how much authority individual employers had as part of an allegedly mismanaged multiemployer benefit fund, saying the question is crucial to determine whether the agency properly won a federal court injunction.

  • May 14, 2024

    Calif. Grower Fights State's Farmworker Unionization Law

    Wonderful Nurseries LLC is challenging a California state statute that simplified the process for farmworkers like the agricultural company's own to unionize, arguing in a new lawsuit that it's unconstitutional to allow a union to represent workers without a secret-ballot election as long as a majority sign union cards.

  • May 14, 2024

    Mass. Pot Shop Ordered To Recognize Union, Rehire Workers

    A Massachusetts cannabis retailer found to have engaged in union busting must recognize and bargain with a United Food and Commercial Workers local and offer to rehire two fired union supporters, a federal judge ordered Tuesday.

  • May 14, 2024

    Mexican Mine Labor Row Ruled Outside Trade Pact's Scope

    An international tribunal formed under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement declined to examine if workers at a Mexican mine were denied collective bargaining rights, finding that much of the 17-year dispute had already been decided under now-defunct labor laws.

  • May 14, 2024

    NLRB Official OKs UFCW Vote At Calif. Planned Parenthood

    A group of Planned Parenthood workers at six facilities in Southern California may vote on whether they want a United Food and Commercial Workers affiliate to represent them, a National Labor Relations Board regional director determined, tossing the reproductive health care provider's arguments for a larger bargaining unit.

  • May 13, 2024

    NLRB Official Lets SoCal Nurses Vote On SEIU Representation

    Twelve registered nurses at a Southern California hospital are free to vote on representation by a Service Employees International Union local later this month, a National Labor Relations Board official has held, rejecting the hospital's claim that the nurses are union-ineligible supervisors.

  • May 13, 2024

    Workers At New Jersey Apple Store Vote Down Union

    Workers at an Apple Store in New Jersey voted against being represented by the Communications Workers of America as the union accused the company of using an "anti-union playbook" to sink the unionization effort.

  • May 13, 2024

    Imaging Co. Flouted Deal By Not Rehiring Worker, NLRB Says

    A medical imaging facility in the Los Angeles area wrongly laid off a union-represented worker in 2019, promised to reinstate her and then never did, the National Labor Relations Board found, ordering the facility to rehire the worker after five years.

  • May 13, 2024

    Starbucks Cracked Down On Union Gear, NLRB Judge Says

    Starbucks violated federal labor law by barring workers at a New York store from wearing union shirts on the job, a National Labor Relations Board judge ruled, saying the company allowed workers to wear shirts with logos supporting other causes.

  • May 13, 2024

    Rail Worker Wage Case Won't Get High Court Review

    The U.S. Supreme Court won't intervene in a pending Massachusetts lawsuit against the operator of a freight rail line over whether its employees are covered by the state's Prevailing Wage Act, declining Monday to review the case.

  • May 10, 2024

    Starbucks Fired Worker Over Early Closure, NLRB Judge Says

    Starbucks unlawfully fired a worker who closed a store early in protest of staffing issues, a National Labor Relations Board judge held Friday, saying the action was a protected strike and that the worker did not lose the protection of federal labor law during heated conversations with managers.

  • May 10, 2024

    American Airlines Worker Fights To Keep OT Suit Alive

    An American Airlines employee is trying again on a claim that the company owes him overtime pay under the Fair Labor Standards Act, telling an Arizona federal judge Friday that the latest version of his complaint shows he's covered by the FLSA, not the Railway Labor Act. 

  • May 10, 2024

    Construction Co. Shakes Black Ex-Worker's Bias Suit

    A Washington federal judge granted a win Friday to a construction company in a Black ex-worker's lawsuit, saying he failed to show he was forced to quit because he complained about his manager's racist comments and not because of the 18 safety warnings he received.

  • May 10, 2024

    Biz Faked Closure After Union Vote, NLRB Judge Says

    An Illinois sprinkler installer committed a barrage of labor violations around its workers' overwhelming vote to unionize in late 2022, including by withholding Christmas turkeys and firing 10 perceived union backers in a false shutdown, a National Labor Relations Board judge said.

  • May 10, 2024

    Deal Reported In Union Production Workers' Benefits Fight

    A settlement is likely coming in a proposed class action filed by Parsec Inc. employees against the National Production Workers Union in Illinois federal court, signaling an end to claims that the rail transportation company's withdrawal from a collective bargaining agreement should have triggered the payout of severance and retirement funds.

Expert Analysis

  • Time For Congress To Let Qualified Older Pilots Keep Flying

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    While a previous Law360 guest article affirmed the current law requiring airline pilots to retire at age 65, the facts suggest that the pilots, their unions, the airlines and the flying public will all benefit if Congress allows experienced, medically qualified aviators to stay in the cockpit, say Allen Baker and Bo Ellis at Let Experienced Pilots Fly.

  • Game-Changing Decisions Call For New Rules At The NCAA

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    From a newly formed college players union to coaches transferring at the drop of a hat, the National College Athletic Association needs an overhaul, including federal supervision, says Frank Darras at DarrasLaw.

  • What Makes Unionization In Financial Services Unique

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    Only around 1% of financial services employees are part of a union, but that number is on the rise, presenting both unique opportunities and challenges for the employers and employees that make up a sector typically devoid of union activity, say Amanda Fugazy and Steven Nevolis at Ellenoff Grossman.

  • Assessing Work Rules After NLRB Handbook Ruling

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    The National Labor Relations Board's Stericycle decision last year sparked uncertainty surrounding whether historically acceptable work rules remain lawful — but employers can use a two-step analysis to assess whether to implement a given rule and how to do so in a compliant manner, say attorneys at Seyfarth.

  • A Look At Global Employee Disconnect Laws For US Counsel

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    As countries worldwide adopt employee right to disconnect laws, U.S. in-house counsel at corporations with a global workforce must develop a comprehensive understanding of the laws' legal and cultural implications, ensuring their companies can safeguard employee welfare while maintaining legal compliance, say Emma Corcoran and Ute Krudewagen at DLA Piper.

  • Employers Beware Of NLRB Changes On Bad Faith Bargaining

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    Recent National Labor Relations Board decisions show a trend of the agency imposing harsher remedies on employers for bad faith bargaining over union contracts, a position upheld in the Ninth Circuit's recent NLRB v. Grill Concepts Services decision, says Daniel Johns at Cozen O'Connor.

  • Practicing Law With Parkinson's Disease

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    This Parkinson’s Awareness Month, Adam Siegler at Greenberg Traurig discusses his experience working as a lawyer with Parkinson’s disease, sharing both lessons on how to cope with a diagnosis and advice for supporting colleagues who live with the disease.

  • What A Post-Chevron Landscape Could Mean For Labor Law

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    With the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling on Chevron deference expected by the end of June, it’s not too soon to consider how National Labor Relations Act interpretations could be affected if federal courts no longer defer to administrative agencies’ statutory interpretation and regulatory actions, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • Eye On Compliance: Employee Social Media Privacy In NY

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    A New York law that recently took effect restricts employers' ability to access the personal social media accounts of employees and job applicants, signifying an increasing awareness of the need to balance employers' interests with worker privacy and free speech rights, says Madjeen Garcon-Bonneau at Wilson Elser.

  • Spartan Arbitration Tactics Against Well-Funded Opponents

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    Like the ancient Spartans who held off a numerically superior Persian army at the Battle of Thermopylae, trial attorneys and clients faced with arbitration against an opponent with a bigger war chest can take a strategic approach to create a pass to victory, say Kostas Katsiris and Benjamin Argyle at Venable.

  • What The NIL Negotiation Rules Injunction Means For NCAA

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    A Tennessee federal court's recent preliminary injunction reverses several prominent and well-established NCAA rules on negotiations with student-athletes over name, image and likeness compensation and shows that collegiate athletics is a profoundly unsettled legal environment, say attorneys at Pillsbury.

  • Takeaways From NLRB Advice On 'Outside' Employment

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    Rebecca Leaf at Miles & Stockbridge examines a recent memo from the National Labor Relations Board’s Division of Advice that said it’s unlawful for employers to restrict secondary or outside employment, and explains what companies should know about the use of certain restrictive covenants going forward.

  • Shaping Speech Policies After NLRB's BLM Protest Ruling

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    After the National Labor Relations Board decided last month that a Home Depot employee was protected by federal labor law when they wore a Black Lives Matter slogan on their apron, employers should consider four questions in order to mitigate legal risks associated with workplace political speech policies, say Louis Cannon and Cassandra Horton at Baker Donelson.