On March 31, 2021, Peter Sung Ohr, Acting General Counsel (GC) of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB or Board) issued a Memorandum (GC 21-03) to all NLRB Regional Offices outlining his perspective regarding the prosecution of charges involving whether certain employee conduct constitutes protected, concerted activities. The GC Memorandum is of significance to all […]
Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act (the Act) gives employees the right to engage in “concerted activities” for “mutual aid or protection.” In general, “concerted activities” are activities or conduct by employees with or on the authority of other employees. This includes activities or conduct by one employee designed to initiate or induce […]
Overruling Obama-era precedent, on December 17 the National Labor Relations Board (Board) published two decisions that will significantly affect all employers. For more information, click here.
Employees have the right to engage in concerted activities, and employers commit unfair labor practices if they retaliate against employees for engaging in those activities. It is important to understand the concept of concerted activity. In order to find that an employee has engaged in concerted activity, it must be shown that: 1) the activity […]
On Friday, June 14, 2019, the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB” or “Board”) issued a decision of significance to employers. In particular, the NLRB decision affects employers, such as hospitals and hotels, that have areas of their property open to the public. Reversing established precedent, the Board held that employers may prohibit non-employee union representatives […]
We frequently confront the question of whether complaints by a single employee to a supervisor about some condition of employment, such as double standard with respect to disciplinary actions against employees or favoritism in job assignments, constitute concerted/protected activity. Concerted/protected activities by an employee are those engaged in with or on the authority of other […]
In its 2014 decision Purple Communications Inc. and Communication Workers of America, the NLRB ruled that employees could generally use employers’ email systems to organize or engage in other concerted activities protected by Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act, overturning board precedent and causing employers everywhere to scramble to update employee handbooks and […]
As previously reported on October 13, 2017, see here, the Federal Courts of Appeal were evenly divided on the question of whether class action waivers contained in otherwise enforceable employment arbitration agreements were permissible. Three Courts of Appeal, i.e., the Sixth, Seventh, and Ninth Circuits, had accepted the position advocated by the National Labor Relations […]
In Purple Communications Inc., 361 NLRB No. 126 (December 11, 2014) the NLRB reversed established precedent that employees did not have statutory rights to use their employers’ email resources for union activity. In that case, the Board held that employees that have been given access to their employers’ email systems, must be permitted to use […]
Recently, Jerry Jones – the outspoken owner of the Dallas Cowboys – announced an official policy that any of his players who kneeled during the national anthem would be benched. On October 11, United Labor Unions Local 100, based in Texas, filed an unfair labor practice charge with National Labor Relations Board (NRLB) asserting that […]
