NLRB
The NLRB Is Providing More Resources to Workers – But What Are Employers’ Rights?
Employers should be aware that the National Labor Relations Act is actively working to inform employees about their rights under that law, and not always in a neutral way. A recent initiative is a new “Know Your Rights” card series. These tri-fold cards, in English and Spanish, are available to employees to share with others…
Read MoreEmployers Beware: The NLRB Limits Severance Agreements
The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB or Board) is making waves yet again. This time the NLRB has held that certain confidentiality and non-disparagement clauses in severance agreements violate Section 7 rights under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA or Act), which is another significant step in the NLRB’s continued push to expand the protections…
Read MoreWhy Do You Need a Handbook Disclaimer and What Should Be In It Anyway?
If you’re like most employers right now, you’re in the process of reviewing your Employee Handbook to see if it needs to be updated. A recent Alabama state court decision offers valuable lessons to all employers with employee handbooks (not just those in Alabama) on the importance of a properly drafted handbook disclaimer. Now, in…
Read MoreEmployers Beware: Pendulum Continues to Swing in Favor of Unions
Since President Biden took office and subsequently appointed union attorney Jennifer Abruzzo to the General Counsel role, the National Labor Relations Board (the “Board” or “NLRB”) has issued pro-union decision after pro-union decision, several of which reversed Trump-era precedent. The trend continued this past week as the Board issued a series of consequential decisions. Two…
Read MoreQuiet Quitting and Today’s Workforce Challenges
The American workforce is in crisis, buffeted by one challenge after another – some recent, and some, like demographic changes, that have been building for decades. At a recent employment law seminar – our first in-person employment program since 2019 – Pierce Atwood brought together clients from health care, higher education, accounting, the nonprofit sector,…
Read MoreA Worrying Surveillance Trend for Remote Workers
WORK PRODUCTIVITY TRACKING: EMPLOYERS FACE SCRUTINY WITHOUT TRANSPARENT POLICIES When the pandemic ushered in a new era of remote work possibilities and capabilities, it simultaneously prompted an increase in the amount of remote workers juggling multiple jobs with one being full-time. This trend, known as “overemployment,” has been helpful for some workers. However, for some…
Read MoreSupreme Court Ready to Address Affirmative Action, Religious Freedoms
With the advent of fall comes a new term for the U.S. Supreme Court, which is likely to hear a number of cases of interest to employers across the country. The 2022-23 term officially started Oct. 3rd. Numerous legal experts have predicted that we’ll see the court reject some major precedents this fall. “They are…
Read MoreOffensive Language May Be Protected Concerted Activity
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ruled that the National Labor Relations Board sufficiently addressed the conflict between an employer’s obligations under federal antidiscrimination laws and employee’s rights under the National Labor Relations Act in finding unlawful an employee’s termination for writing “whore board” at the top of two overtime sign-up sheets.…
Read More7 trends likely to shape HR in 2022
From the Great Resignation to vaccine mandate confusion, last year was a wild ride for HR. Some things may not have cleared up much — like when the pandemic will end or when the labor market will stabilize — but current predictions build on the learnings from the last 12 months. Nearly two years into…
Read MoreEmployees Working from Home – How Should Company’s React?
With the country reopening due to the lessening of COVID-related restrictions, companies and employees are returning to a new “normal.” Remote working has become a recruiting tool for some companies. For other companies which have required employees to return to the office, the failure to continue to allow some form of remote working (“hybrid model”)…
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