Labor

  • October 04, 2024

    Tesla's Workplace Tech Rules Are Lawful, NLRB Judge Says

    Tesla didn't violate federal labor law by having workplace rules limiting the use of company technology at its Buffalo, New York, plant where workers were organizing, a National Labor Relations Board judge ruled Friday, finding the policies can't be viewed as infringing on employees' rights.

  • October 04, 2024

    Off-Broadway Workers To Vote On Union Representation

    The employees of an off-Broadway theater organization called Theatre Row will vote on representation by the independent Theatre Shop Union later this month, a National Labor Relations Board official said Friday.

  • October 04, 2024

    USDA Updates Regulation Without Labor Compliance Portion

    The U.S. Department of Agriculture filed a final rule Friday tweaking an acquisition regulation after nearly 30 years since a previous overhaul, but the rule doesn't include a proposal that would have required federal contractors to certify compliance with federal and state labor laws.

  • October 04, 2024

    Paramount Hit With WARN Act Suit Over NYC Layoffs

    Paramount violated the New York Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act by laying off more than 300 New York City-based employees without the required 90 days' notice, a new proposed class action filed in New York federal court alleges.

  • October 04, 2024

    Calif. Forecast: O'Reilly $4M COVID Screening Deal At Court

    In the coming week, attorneys should watch for potential final approval of a deal to resolve a class action alleging O'Reilly Auto Enterprises failed to pay for time workers spent in COVID-19 screenings. Here's a look at that case and other labor and employment matters on deck in California.

  • October 04, 2024

    NY Forecast: Judge Mulls ConEd's Bid To Toss Atty's Bias Suit

    This week, a New York federal judge will consider whether to toss a former ConEd attorney's lawsuit claiming she was discriminated against on the basis of her age and gender.

  • October 04, 2024

    NLRB Official Rejects Gym's Challenge To Union Election

    The director of the National Labor Relations Board's Brooklyn office certified a union at a rock climbing gym in the New York City borough, rejecting the gym's claim that workers were pressured into voting yes because a supervisor supported the union and there were pro-union posters near the polling place.

  • October 04, 2024

    Union Wrongly Cut Biz Agent's Seniority, NLRB Judge Says

    A Teamsters affiliate in Alaska breached its duty of fair representation by slashing a truck driver's seniority when he came back to work after being a union business agent, a National Labor Relations Board judge ruled, finding the union's take on a labor contract's seniority clause wasn't reasonable.

  • October 03, 2024

    ACLU Fights NLRB Judge's Order To Rehire Outspoken Atty

    The American Civil Liberties Union is fighting a National Labor Relations Board judge's order to rehire an attorney who tweeted disparaging remarks about her bosses, doubling down on its argument that her firing was justified because she'd committed public insubordination and used anti-Black language in the workplace.

  • October 03, 2024

    East Coast Ports Strike Suspended Under Tentative Wage Deal

    After a three-day strike, tens of thousands of dockworkers on the East and Gulf coasts will head back to work because International Longshoremen's Association union leaders reached a tentative wage agreement late Thursday with the group that represents container carriers, marine terminal operators and port employers.

  • October 03, 2024

    4th Circ. Orders Damages Redo In Metal Worker Benefits Fight

    The Fourth Circuit ruled Thursday that a Maryland-based sheet metal manufacturer violated federal benefits law by underpaying contributions it owed to a group of union benefit plans, but said a trial court needs to take another shot at calculating damages.

  • October 03, 2024

    Workers Seek To Unionize At Cheech & Chong's Pot Shop

    Workers at a Massachusetts cannabis dispensary affiliated with stoner comedy stars Richard "Cheech" Marin and Tommy Chong have petitioned the National Labor Relations Board to hold a union election.

  • October 03, 2024

    12 Lawyers Who Are The Future Of The Supreme Court Bar

    One attorney hasn't lost a single U.S. Supreme Court case she's argued, or even a single justice's vote. One attorney is perhaps "the preeminent SCOTUS advocate." And one may soon become U.S. solicitor general, despite acknowledging there are "judges out there who don't like me." All three are among a dozen lawyers in the vanguard of the Supreme Court bar's next generation, poised to follow in the footsteps of the bar's current icons.

  • October 03, 2024

    5th Circ. Must Merge NLRB Constitutional Cases, Agency Says

    The Fifth Circuit should combine appeals of district court orders halting unfair labor practice proceedings against SpaceX and other companies in connection with their constitutional challenges to the National Labor Relations Board's structure, the board argued, saying the injunctions have "put justice on hold" for workers.

  • October 03, 2024

    2nd Circ. Reverses Unsealing Of Janitor's Arbitration Award

    A Second Circuit panel ruled that a $57,100 arbitration award in a misclassification suit against a cleaning company must remain confidential, flipping a Connecticut federal court's decision unsealing the award and declining to dismiss the case.

  • October 03, 2024

    Sens. Question If Payouts Taint Execs' Push For US Steel Deal

    Two U.S. senators wrote to U.S. Steel's president and CEO on Wednesday seeking guarantees that a $72 million "golden parachute" deal wasn't driving the executive's willingness to support a $14.1 billion merger with Japanese steelmaker Nippon Steel.

  • October 03, 2024

    San Francisco Amazon Workers Demand Union Recognition

    Employees of an Amazon warehouse in San Francisco have demanded that the company recognize the Teamsters as their bargaining representative, becoming the second group of Amazon workers to send a union recognition demand in two weeks.

  • October 03, 2024

    NLRB Backs Off Nationwide Injunction Bid Against Starbucks

    The National Labor Relations Board and Starbucks ended litigation in a Colorado federal court of agency prosecutors' request for a nationwide injunction to stop the coffee chain from firing workers for their union activities.

  • October 02, 2024

    Cannabis Co. Worker Seeks To Decertify Union In NJ

    A Green Thumb Industries employee backed by the National Right to Work Foundation is looking to decertify the union that represents the cannabis company's New Jersey employees, the anti-union group announced Wednesday.

  • October 02, 2024

    Texas NLRB Constitutional Case Transferred, Kept By Judge

    A case by a medical center challenging the constitutionality of the National Labor Relations Board will be transferred from one Texas federal court division to another, but the judge, who previously granted an injunction against board proceedings, will retain the case on his docket.

  • October 02, 2024

    14 States, DC Urge 11th Circ. To Uphold Train Crew Size Rule

    A coalition of 14 states and the District of Columbia urged the Eleventh Circuit to reject the railroad industry's attempt to vacate the U.S. Department of Transportation's final rule requiring all trains to be operated with at least two people, saying doing so would make rail operations less safe nationally.

  • October 02, 2024

    Auto Parts Co. Tells 6th Circ. NLRB Judge Is 'Unaccountable'

    An auto parts manufacturer urged the Sixth Circuit to halt National Labor Relations Board proceedings against the company before an "unaccountable" agency judge, arguing the employer would face harm because the administrative judge is unconstitutionally shielded from removal by the president.

  • October 02, 2024

    ExxonMobil Unit Cleared In Union Labor Dispute

    An ExxonMobil unit did not assign union-represented employees' work to nonunion interns at a Louisiana refinery and chemical plant, a National Labor Relations Board judge ruled, saying the case record lacks proof that the interns assumed the tasks of the plant's United Steelworkers-represented workers.

  • October 01, 2024

    What To Watch As East Coast Ports Strike Roils Supply Chain

    The first major strike in 47 years of thousands of dockworkers on the East and Gulf coasts has left importers and exporters bracing for unpredictable and costly disruptions alongside economic upheaval not felt since the thick of the COVID-19 pandemic, experts say.

  • October 01, 2024

    Amazon Jointly Employs Drivers In Calif., NLRB Attys Say

    Amazon is a joint employer of its contractor's drivers, according to a copy of a consolidated complaint from National Labor Relations Board attorneys obtained by Law360 on Tuesday, alleging the e-commerce giant is on the hook for multiple unfair labor practices.

Expert Analysis

  • Politics In California Workplaces: What Employers Must Know

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    As the election looms, it is critical that California employers ensure their compliance with state laws providing robust protections for employees' political activity — including antidiscrimination laws, off-duty conduct laws, employee voting leave laws and more, say Bradford Kelley and Britney Torres at Littler.

  • Licensing And Protections For Voice Actors In The Age Of AI

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    While two recently enacted California laws and other recent state and federal legislation largely focus on protecting actors and musicians from the unauthorized use of their digital likenesses by generative artificial intelligence systems, the lesser-known community of professional voice actors also stands to benefit, says attorney Scott Mortman.

  • How Cos. Can Protect Supply Chains During The Port Strike

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    With dock workers at ports along the East and Gulf Coasts launching a strike that will likely cause severe supply chain disruptions, there are several steps exporters and importers can take to protect their businesses and mitigate increased costs, say attorneys at Thompson Hine.

  • How NLRB Memo Balances Schools' Labor, Privacy Concerns

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    Natale DiNatale at Robinson & Cole highlights the recent National Labor Relations Board advice memorandum that aims to help colleges reconcile competing obligations under the National Labor Relations Act and the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act as university students flock toward unionization.

  • Basics Of Collective Bargaining Law In Principle And Practice

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    Rebecca Bernhard and Jennifer Service at Barnes & Thornburg discuss the nuts and bolts of what the National Labor Relations Act requires of employers during collective bargaining, and translate these obligations into practical steps that will help companies prepare for, and succeed during, the negotiation process.

  • The Risks Of Employee Political Discourse On Social Media

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    As election season enters its final stretch and employees increasingly engage in political speech on social media, employers should beware the liability risks and consider policies that negotiate the line between employees' rights and the limits on those rights, say Bradford Kelley and James McGehee at Littler.

  • 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.