Labor

  • October 29, 2024

    1st Starbucks Cemex Ruling Shows Goals Of Bargaining Test

    A National Labor Relations Board judge's decision finding for the first time that Starbucks should be ordered to bargain with Workers United under the board's new Cemex standard shows the intent behind the landmark precedent shift, experts said, but the improving relationship between the coffee giant and union might blunt its impact.

  • October 29, 2024

    Legal Union Fights Title VII Claims After Palestine Resolution

    The Association of Legal Aid Attorneys did not violate anti-discrimination laws by moving to expel three attorneys who tried to stop the union from adopting a controversial pro-Palestine resolution, the union has argued, asking a New York federal judge to dismiss the attorneys' Title VII lawsuit.

  • October 29, 2024

    NLRB Defends Constitutionality In Lead 5th Circ. Case

    The National Labor Relations Board has filed its defense to a consolidated Fifth Circuit challenge to its constitutionality, arguing that courts overstepped by blocking NLRB suits against SpaceX and others and that it's more harmful to enjoin the agency's prosecutions than to let them proceed.

  • October 29, 2024

    9th Circ. Halts Cemex Review To Mull Bigger NLRB Challenge

    The Ninth Circuit will hold off on deciding the fate of the National Labor Relations Board's Cemex ruling, which set a new standard for issuing bargaining orders in administrative proceedings, while it mulls whether the structure of those proceedings is still viable under recent U.S. Supreme Court precedent.

  • October 29, 2024

    5th Circ. Revives Pilots Union's Dispute With Southwest

    The Fifth Circuit has revived a union's dispute with Southwest Airlines over alleged retaliation against a worker for his union activity and sent it back to Texas federal court, saying the legal fight qualifies for an exception to the Railway Labor Act's mandatory arbitration rule.

  • October 28, 2024

    NLRB Told To Study Starbucks Case In Newspaper Union Battle

    A Pennsylvania federal judge on Monday told National Labor Relations Board attorneys to bolster their bid to force the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's publishers back to the bargaining table with striking unions, pointing out the higher bar the U.S. Supreme Court recently set for obtaining injunctions against employers over unfair labor practices. 

  • October 28, 2024

    Boeing Moves Ahead With $19B Share Sale Amid Cash Crunch

    Boeing launched plans Monday to sell common and preferred stock estimated to raise nearly $19 billion, potentially easing the aviation giant's cash crush amid a prolonged strike and production setbacks, represented by Kirkland & Ellis LLP and underwriters' counsel Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP.

  • October 28, 2024

    2nd Circ. Enforces NLRB Order Against Theater Co.

    The Second Circuit has enforced a National Labor Relations Board order compelling a theatrical production company to hand over certain documents to the Actors' Equity Association, saying Monday the company can't cite a concern that the union might publicize the information as a reason to withhold it.

  • October 28, 2024

    Yellow Corp. Says Failing Biz Excuses WARN Act Duty

    Bankrupt trucking firm Yellow Corp. told a Delaware judge Monday that it should get early wins in suits brought by laid off employees, saying that because the company had ceased most business operations, it was excused from notification obligations surrounding the firing of thousands of workers.

  • October 28, 2024

    NLRB Official OKs Nurse Supervisors' Vote In Jail Union

    Registered nurse supervisors will be able to vote with dentists to be represented by a healthcare union at a California jail, a National Labor Relations Board official ruled, saying that assigning clinical staff was routine in nature.

  • October 28, 2024

    Ariz. Judge Won't Halt NLRB Case On Constitutional Grounds

    An Arizona federal judge won't pause a National Labor Relations Board case against a grocer on constitutional grounds, saying the company hasn't shown it would suffer irreparable harm if the case continues.

  • October 28, 2024

    NLRB Judge Says Starbucks Punished Worker For Union Shirt

    Starbucks violated federal labor law by issuing discipline to a worker for wearing a union shirt on the job, a National Labor Relations Board judge ruled Friday, saying the company previously allowed workers to wear nonunion apparel without punishment.

  • October 28, 2024

    DOL Settles Officer Election Row With Fla. Port Union

    The U.S. secretary of labor will oversee the next officers' election at an International Longshoremen's Association local in Jacksonville, Florida, the union and the U.S. Department of Labor have agreed, resolving a lawsuit that challenged four candidates' disqualification from a 2022 election.

  • October 28, 2024

    Teamsters Didn't Taint UPS Election, NLRB Tells 9th Circ.

    The National Labor Relations Board urged the Ninth Circuit to uphold an order making UPS bargain with the Teamsters over conditions at a California warehouse, disputing the company's claim that union representatives tainted a union vote by campaigning in the parking lot.

  • October 25, 2024

    5th Circ. Punts Musk Tweet Lawfulness, But Axes NLRB Order

    An en banc Fifth Circuit majority on Friday overturned a National Labor Relations Board decision that a tweet Tesla CEO Elon Musk sent during a United Auto Workers unionization campaign violated federal labor law, while the court's dissenting members criticized the majority's decision as "logically incoherent."

  • October 25, 2024

    Alibaba Agrees To $433.5M Deal In Nearly 4-Year Investor Suit

    Alibaba Group has agreed to shell out $433.5 million to resolve a proposed class of investors' allegations it made misstatements about its exclusivity practices and the planned $34 billion initial public offering of a fintech affiliate, the Chinese e-commerce company said in a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing on Friday.

  • October 25, 2024

    Boeing Row Shines Spotlight On Union Bargaining Breaches

    A recent charge by Boeing accusing the International Association of Machinists of bargaining in bad faith offers a relatively rare example of an employer accusing a union of skirting its negotiating duty, further heightening the stakes of the prolonged strike.

  • October 25, 2024

    OpenAI, Authors Battle Over Execs' Texts And Proof Of Harm

    California labor law doesn't shield OpenAI from producing CEO Sam Altman's and President Greg Brockman's texts and social media messages relevant to a copyright infringement lawsuit, authors alleging OpenAI and Microsoft illegally used their copyrighted works to train artificial intelligence program ChatGPT have told a New York federal judge.

  • October 25, 2024

    NLRB Wins Injunction, Defeats Constitutional Claims In Mich.

    A Michigan federal judge handed the National Labor Relations Board two victories Friday in the agency's dispute with a hospital, ordering the hospital to resume recognizing the Service Employees International Union affiliate it ousted last year and rejecting the hospital's argument that the agency's structure is unconstitutional.

  • October 25, 2024

    NLRB Demands Bargain Order Against Calif. Dialysis Operator

    NLRB prosecutors asked a California federal judge to order the operator of dialysis centers to bargain with a West Coast affiliate of the Service Employees International Union, arguing the injunction is imperative to help the union win back diminishing support because of the company's unfair labor practices.

  • October 25, 2024

    Maritime Unions Tell EPA To Reject Calif. Workboat Rule

    Three maritime labor unions and a tugboat trade association called on U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael Regan to deny California's request for a Clean Air Act waiver to enforce its rule mandating the installation of diesel particulate filter technology on workboats.

  • October 25, 2024

    Amazon Defends Harm Claim In Bid To Block NLRB Dispute

    Amazon pushed back on the National Labor Relations Board's claim at the Fifth Circuit that the company has not justified its suit seeking to block prosecutions against it on the grounds that the agency is unconstitutionally structured, arguing that facing unconstitutional proceedings is a harm courts can remedy.

  • October 25, 2024

    NLRB Judge Faults Restaurant's Atty For Questions To Worker

    A sushi restaurant in Louisiana violated federal labor law when its attorney illegally questioned a fired employee about their testimony and accused the worker of attempting to obtain money from a National Labor Relations Board case, an agency judge determined, finding such a claim is "flatly absurd."

  • October 25, 2024

    Nursing Home's Challenge To NLRB Case Falls Flat In NJ

    A New Jersey federal judge won't block the National Labor Relations Board from adjudicating a case against a nursing home on the grounds that the agency is unconstitutionally structured, saying the company has not shown it would be irreparably harmed without an injunction.

  • October 25, 2024

    Calif. Forecast: $5.5M Amazon COVID Screening Deal At Court

    In the coming week, attorneys should keep an eye out for potential final approval of a $5.5 million settlement in a COVID-19 screening class action against Amazon. Here's a look at that case and other labor and employment matters coming up in California.

Expert Analysis

  • Proposed Law Would Harm NYC Hospitality Industry

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    A recently proposed New York City Law that would update hotel licensing and staff coverage requirements could give the city commissioner and unions undue control over the city's hospitality industry, and harm smaller hotels that cannot afford full-time employees, says Stuart Saft at Holland & Knight.

  • US Labor And Employment Law Holds Some Harsh Trade-Offs

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    U.S. labor and employment laws have evolved into a product of exposure-capping compromise, which merits discussion in a presidential election year when the dialogue has focused on purported protections of middle-class workers, says Reuben Guttman at Guttman Buschner.

  • Water Cooler Talk: Immigration Insights From 'The Proposal'

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    Tracey Diamond and Evan Gibbs at Troutman Pepper chat with their colleague Robert Lee about how immigration challenges highlighted in the romantic comedy "The Proposal" — beyond a few farcical plot contrivances — relate to real-world visa processes and employer compliance.

  • Insuring Lender's Baseball Bet Leads To Major League Dispute

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    In RockFence v. Lloyd's, a California federal court seeks to define who qualifies as a professional baseball player for purposes of an insurance coverage payout, providing an illuminating case study of potential legal issues arising from baseball service loans, say Marshall Gilinsky and Seán McCabe at Anderson Kill.

  • Preparing For The NLRB's New Union Recognition Final Rule

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    The National Labor Relations Board's impending new final rule on union recognition puts the employer at a particular disadvantage in a decertification election, and best practices include conducting workplace assessments to identify and proactively address employee issues, say Louis Cannon and Gerald Bradner at Baker Donelson.

  • The Big Issues A BigLaw Associates' Union Could Address

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    A BigLaw associates’ union could address a number of issues that have the potential to meaningfully improve working conditions, diversity and attorney well-being — from restructured billable hour requirements to origination credit allocation, return-to-office mandates and more, says Tara Rhoades at The Sanity Plea.

  • It's Time For A BigLaw Associates' Union

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    As BigLaw faces a steady stream of criticism about its employment policies and practices, an associates union could effect real change — and it could start with law students organizing around opposition to recent recruiting trends, says Tara Rhoades at The Sanity Plea.

  • Key Steps To Employer Petitions For Union Elections

    Excerpt from Practical Guidance
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    Since the National Labor Relations Board shifted the burden of requesting formal union elections onto employers in its Cemex decision last year — and raised the stakes for employer missteps during the process — companies should be prepared to correctly file representation management election petitions and respond to union demands for recognition, says Adam Keating at Duane Morris.

  • Focus On Political Stances May Weaken Labor Unions

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    Recent lawsujits and a bill pending in the U.S. House of Representatives call attention to the practice of labor unions taking political stances with which their members disagree — an issue that may weaken unions, and that employers should stay abreast of, given its implications for labor organizing campaigns, workplace morale and collective bargaining, says Daniel Johns at Cozen O'Connor.

  • NLRB Ruling Highlights Rare Union Deauthorization Process

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    A recent National Labor Relations Board decision about a guard company's union authorization revocation presents a ripe opportunity for employees to review the particulars of this uncommon process, and employer compliance is critical as well, say Megann McManus and Trecia Moore at Husch Blackwell.

  • Latest 'Nuclear Verdict' Underscores Jury-Trial Employer Risk

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    A Los Angeles Superior Court jury's recent $900 million verdict in a high-profile sexual assault and harassment case illustrates the increase in so-called nuclear verdicts in employment cases, and the need for employers to explore alternative methods of resolving disputes, say Anthony Oncidi and Morgan Peterson at Proskauer.

  • After Chevron: What Loper Bright Portends For The NLRB

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    While the U.S. Supreme Court has a long history of deferring to the National Labor Relations Board's readings of federal labor law, the court's Loper Bright v. Raimondo decision forces courts to take a harder look at the judgment of an agency — and the NLRB will not be immune from such greater scrutiny, says Irving Geslewitz at Much Shelist.

  • What's Next After NLRB Ruling On Overbroad Noncompetes

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    If the National Labor Relations Board's recent ruling on noncompete provisions and its extension of Section 7 rights to limit noncompetes is adopted, this interpretation of the National Labor Relations Act will have to survive scrutiny by the courts without the deference previously afforded under the U.S. Supreme Court's recent overturning of Chevron, say attorneys at Littler.

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