Labor

  • April 08, 2025

    IBEW Local Illegally Fired Union Organizer, NLRB Judge Rules

    An International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers unit violated federal labor law by firing a business agent who led efforts to organize employees of the union, a National Labor Relations Board judge ruled, finding considerable evidence of anti-union bias.

  • April 08, 2025

    Justices Halt Order To Reinstate Federal Workers

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday hit pause on a California federal court order reinstating tens of thousands of probationary federal workers who were fired from six agencies, agreeing with the Trump administration that the nonprofit groups that obtained the order lack standing to challenge the firings. 

  • April 07, 2025

    NJ Panel Upholds Nix Of Police Unions' Retroactive Pay Suit

    Two New Jersey police unions couldn't convince a state appeals court that Atlantic City and the state owed retroactive raises to officers, an appellate panel ruled Monday, finding a law focused on assisting municipalities with financial troubles supplants agreements about wage increases and promotions.

  • April 07, 2025

    ​​​​​​​AFGE Demands Halt To Homeland Security's CBA Termination

    The American Federation of Government Employees and one of its affiliates requested an injunction to block U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem's move to end a collective bargaining agreement covering Transportation Security Administration employees, accusing the Trump administration of retaliating against the union.

  • April 07, 2025

    Foreign Service Union Says Bargaining Rights Illegally Ended

    President Donald Trump's executive order ending collective bargaining with unions representing federal workers illegally targets unions that don't agree with him, the American Foreign Service Association said in a lawsuit filed in District of Columbia federal court Monday.

  • April 07, 2025

    Grocers Say Colo. AG Can't Fish For More 'No-Poach' Claims

    Kroger and Albertsons have accused Colorado's attorney general of going on a "fishing expedition" as they wait for a ruling on a claim that the grocers brokered an illegal "no-poach" agreement during a 2022 grocery store strike, in a motion asking a Colorado state court to quash document requests into a February strike.

  • April 07, 2025

    9th Circ. Says Teamsters Didn't Taint UPS Election

    Teamsters representatives didn't taint the results of a UPS union representation election by chatting with workers in a warehouse parking lot while the vote went on inside, a Ninth Circuit panel ruled Monday, saying the representatives' "brief conversations with three voters … did not constitute objectionable electioneering or voter intimidation."

  • April 07, 2025

    Union Officer Election May Proceed Despite Retaliation Row

    A New York federal judge won't block an upcoming officer election at a New York City elevator workers' union or immediately reinstate two members who claimed they were retaliated against for supporting a candidate that the local's president didn't like, finding they waited too long to request an injunction.

  • April 07, 2025

    Teamsters Unit Seeks Early Win For Reinstatement Award

    A Teamsters local urged a Missouri federal court to uphold an arbitration award requiring Unilever to reinstate an employee who was let go for allegedly falsifying company records, arguing the arbitrator issued a reasonable decision that the worker was fired without just cause.

  • April 07, 2025

    Full DC Circ. Lifts Pause On NLRB, MSPB Reinstatements

    The full D.C. Circuit on Monday lifted a March panel decision pausing the reinstatement of National Labor Relations Board and Merit Systems Protection Board members that President Donald Trump fired, saying U.S. Supreme Court precedent blessing limitations on the president's ability to fire agency officials still stands.

  • April 04, 2025

    JLL Asks DC Circ. To Reconsider Enforcement Of NLRB Order

    Jones Lang LaSalle Americas Inc. urged the D.C. Circuit to rethink its decision affirming a National Labor Relations Board's bargaining order against the company, contending the appeals court wrongly compared this case to other precedent and found the business forfeited an argument.

  • April 04, 2025

    6th Circ. Says Fiat Chrysler Engineers' Claims Are Preempted

    The Sixth Circuit said Friday that federal law bars Fiat Chrysler engineers from pursuing state-based claims alleging they lost wages and benefits after being transferred in connection to an illicit bribery scheme involving former United Auto Workers officials and company executives.

  • April 04, 2025

    NY Forecast: 2nd Circ. Weighs OK Of Disputed Settlement

    This week, the Second Circuit will consider whether to reverse a Connecticut federal judge's decision giving final approval to a class and collective action settlement between a home health care company and workers based on a memorandum of understanding that the company claims is unenforceable.

  • April 04, 2025

    Colo. Union Vote Overhaul Hangs In Balance With Veto Threat

    A proposal to overhaul Colorado's law requiring unions to go through a second election before negotiating union security clauses is undergoing last-minute discussions over its final form in hopes of thwarting the governor's veto threat.

  • April 04, 2025

    NJ Panel Rules Troopers' CBA Unclear On OT Math

    An arbitrator correctly tossed a New Jersey State Police troopers union's grievance over overtime calculations because the collective bargaining agreement is ambiguous on which benchmark to use, a state appellate panel ruled Friday.

  • April 04, 2025

    Starbucks Illegally Called Cops On Protest, NLRB Judge Says

    A National Labor Relations Board judge said Starbucks illegally called the police on organizers who leafleted a cafe in New York state, saying a manager called to suppress the protest and not to protect an organizer or get nonemployees off its property.

  • April 04, 2025

    Calif. Forecast: AB 5 Trucking Challenge Back At 9th Circ.

    In the coming week, attorneys should keep an eye out for oral arguments at the Ninth Circuit in a challenge to California's independent contractor classification law by trucking industry groups and two drivers, a case that previously went before the appeals court. Here's a look at that case and other labor and employment matters coming up in California.

  • April 04, 2025

    Unions Call Trump's Federal Worker Bargaining EO Illegal

    Six unions representing thousands of federal employees fought against President Donald Trump's executive order looking to cease collective bargaining at several agencies with "national security" focuses, telling a California federal court that the order violates the First and Fifth amendments to the U.S. Constitution.

  • April 04, 2025

    NLRB Rightly Ruled Montana Co. Owed Union Info, Attys Say

    A split National Labor Relations Board properly ruled that a Montana internet service provider illegally withheld information from a union about whether its parent company's employees were performing bargaining unit employees' work, NLRB prosecutors argued Friday, asking the D.C. Circuit to enforce the board's ruling.

  • April 04, 2025

    NY Judge Who Blocked VOA Shutdown Sends Case To DC

    The Manhattan federal judge who called the Trump administration's move to shutter Voice of America a "classic case" of arbitrary policymaking on Friday ordered the case transferred to D.C. federal court, but said his restraining order remains in effect.

  • April 04, 2025

    Fox Rothschild Employment Atty Joins Pierson Ferdinand

    Fast-growing Pierson Ferdinand LLP has announced a labor and employment attorney with more than 40 years of experience has joined the firm from Fox Rothschild LLP as a partner based in New York and Princeton, New Jersey.

  • April 04, 2025

    Pension Fund Miscalculated Co.'s $23M Exit Fee, Judge Says

    A Teamsters pension fund erred when it determined that a concrete company owed $23 million for withdrawing from the plan, an Illinois federal judge ruled, saying an arbitrator needs to reassess the calculation and give the employer proper credit for other payments made.

  • April 04, 2025

    Unions Can Get Fees Under Anti-SLAPP Law In Hotel's Suit

    Two unions were the prevailing parties in the state claims in a suit by hotel operators accusing them of interfering in a SeaWorld development project, a California federal judge said, ruling that they can recover attorney fees and costs.

  • April 03, 2025

    5th Circ. Says Lateness Didn't Ax Co.'s NLRB Ruling Fight

    A split Fifth Circuit panel won't enforce the National Labor Relations Board's holding that a public transit operator illegally snubbed a union, saying the board should have processed the company's challenge to an agency judge's ruling even though it filed its exceptions brief a day late.

  • April 03, 2025

    Software Co. Must Reinstate Workers, NLRB Tells DC Circ.

    The National Labor Relations Board asked the D.C. Circuit to uphold the NLRB's order finding a Vermont software development company illegally fired four employees for their actions involving a salary spreadsheet, defending remedies of reinstatement and compensation for pecuniary harms.

Expert Analysis

  • How The NLRA May Slow Down The FAST Act

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    California's Fast Food Accountability and Standards Recovery Act takes on many of the activities already managed by the National Labor Relations Act and may give rise to arguments that the new law is federally preempted, say attorneys at Greenberg Traurig.

  • Cos. Must Consider Union Vs. Nonunion Employee Treatment

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    The National Labor Relations Board’s recent actions challenging Starbucks' exclusion of union employees from new benefits may guide employers on the treatment of union-represented employees versus others that are not, but companies should still beware of the NLRB’s tendency to shift positions with different administrations, says Hugh Murray at McCarter & English.

  • How NLRB Status Quo Rule Change Affects Employers

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    In its recent Pittsburgh Post-Gazette decision, the National Labor Relations Board changed the application of the corollary to a rule that requires maintaining the status quo after a bargaining agreement expires, which could negatively affect employers by complicating operational decisions, says James Redeker at Duane Morris.

  • Company Considerations For Cash Award Incentives: Part 2

    Excerpt from Practical Guidance
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    Cash awards can help companies address some issues associated with equity awards to compensate employees, but due to potential downsides, they should be treated as a tool in a long-term incentive program rather than a panacea, say Denise Glagau and Kela Shang at Baker McKenzie.

  • Why Minor League Labor Negotiations Will Be Complicated

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    Despite the Major League Baseball voluntarily recognizing the recently announced Minor League Baseball union and avoiding a potentially contentious process, the forthcoming labor negotiations will be complex for multiple reasons — from minor leaguer demographics to the specter of antitrust scrutiny, says Christopher Deubert at Constangy Brooks.

  • Alternatives For Employers Considering Workforce Reduction

    Excerpt from Practical Guidance
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    Employers' reduction in force decisions can be costly, increase exposure to employment lawsuits and lower morale of remaining employees, but certain other approaches can help reduce labor costs while minimizing the usual consequences, say Andrew Sommer and Megan Shaked at Conn Maciel.

  • How Weingarten Rights May Operate In A Nonunion Workplace

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    A recent National Labor Relations Board memo signals an interest in giving nonunion employees a right to have a coworker representative present in disciplinary hearings, but concerned employers may find solace in limits the agency has placed on union employees' Weingarten rights over the years, say David Pryzbylski and Thomas Payne at Barnes & Thornburg.

  • Employer Discipline Lessons In DC Circ. Vulgar Protest Ruling

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    The D.C. Circuit's recent ruling in Constellium Rolled Products v. NLRB — that a worker was improperly fired for using profanity while protesting company policy — highlights confusion surrounding worker protections for concerted activity and the high bar for employers to prove discipline is unrelated to such activity, say John Hargrove and Anne Yuengert at Bradley Arant.

  • NLRB Reversal On Union Apparel Is A Warning For Employers

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    The National Labor Relations Board's recent reversal of Trump-era case law in its Tesla ruling significantly limits when employers may restrict union insignia on clothing in the workplace and provides multiple cautionary takeaways for employers, say attorneys at Shipman & Goodwin.

  • Proposed NLRB Rule Would Vastly Expand Joint Employment

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    The National Labor Relations Board’s recently proposed rule for determining when joint employment exists would replace a 2020 standard with expansive new definitions, including the problematic addition of workplace health and safety as an essential term and condition, says Todd Lebowitz at BakerHostetler.

  • Key Takeaways From Calif.'s Sweeping Fast-Food Wage Law

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    California Gov. Gavin Newsom recently signed a controversial wage bill that will have a major impact on fast-food employers and employees, will likely shape how the state regulates other industries in the future, and represents a radical step toward sectoral bargaining, says Pooja Nair at Ervin Cohen.

  • Prepare For NLRB Collaboration With Antitrust Agencies

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    The National Labor Relations Board's recent agreements with the Federal Trade Commission and the U.S. Department of Justice may herald increased interagency engagement on noncompete and no-poach issues, so companies that face scrutiny from one agency may well quickly be in the crosshairs of another, say attorneys at BakerHostetler.

  • Watson Discipline Case Shows NFL's Power In Labor Disputes

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    While the six-game suspension a disciplinary officer recently ordered against Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson aligns with labor law standards, the NFL has authority to increase the punishment with little to no recourse for Watson or the NFL Players Association — thanks to the 2016 “Deflategate” case, says Michael Elkins at MLE Law.

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