On April 1, 2020, the National Labor Relations Board finalized and enacted several significant changes to union election procedures. These changes, which largely target procedures that unions have used to maintain or implement union representation despite opposition from employees, will take effect early this summer.
For the full alert, visit the Faegre Drinker website.
Beginning May 31, 2020, the time from petition to union election is slated to double, creating new opportunities for employers. The National Labor Relations Board has issued several important changes related to how it will process union certification and decertification elections. These changes include a relaxation of the timelines that guide union elections and an expansion of parties’ rights that could further lengthen the timeline.
Continue reading “No More “Quickie Elections”: NLRB’s New Election Procedures Delayed Until May 31″
A business is a joint employer of another employer’s employees only if the two employers share or codetermine the employees’ essential terms and conditions of employment, according to a recently unveiled and long-awaited final rule from the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) that will take effect on April 27, 2020. By tightening the legal test the NLRB uses to determine whether workers are jointly employed by affiliate businesses, including franchisors and franchisees, the rule provides welcomed clarity for franchisors, and will allow them to provide more operational support and guidance to franchisees.
Continue reading “NLRB Tightens Standard for Joint Employer Status”
In a long-awaited decision, the United States Supreme Court, by a 5-to-4 vote, overturned the National Labor Relations Board’s (the “Board”) ruling that class action waivers violate the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) because they interfere with the right to engage in “protected activity,” which, according to the Board, includes the ability to bring class or collective actions. Epic Sys. Corp. v. Lewis, No. 16-0285, 2018 WL 2292444, at *23 (U.S. May 21, 2018).
The acronyms “NLRB” or “NLRA” rarely appear in articles about enforcement of private sector non-compete agreements. Until recently. Dun dun dun! (Que the “dramatic gopher video” on YouTube).
In this thirteenth article of “The Restricting Covenant” series, I discuss two cases in which the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) determined that an employer’s enforcement of non-compete and non-solicitation agreements violated Section 8(a) of the National Labor Relations Act (“NLRA”). Section 8(a) makes it an unfair labor practice for an employer to maintain workplace rules that would reasonably tend to chill employees in exercising their Section 7 rights to engage in or refrain from concerted activities protected under the NLRA.
Continue reading “Part 13 of “The Restricting Covenant” Series: The NLRB, NLRA and Non-Competes”
Board awards in unfair labor practice cases are usually premised in a make-whole remedy which, in the case of back-pay awards for example, include interest. Interest has been part of the remedy for decades. More recently, daily compound interest became the rule. The Board can reset the rate quarterly using the short-term federal rate plus three percent, which is the rate the IRS uses for underpayment of taxes. For several years, the rate was three or four percent, given the state of the economy. Interest awards can really add up, especially when a make-whole remedy impacts a large workforce and interest accrues over the many years it can take for final decision in a ULP case. As such, interest is normally a factor in litigation and settlement of these cases.
Continue reading “NLRB Interest Rate Will Increase to Five Percent”