Labor Law Blog

Medic Ambulance Service, Inc., 370 NLRB No. 65 (January 4, 2021) The Board unanimously found the employer violated Section 8(a)(1) by maintaining rules prohibiting conducting personal business on company time or property and soliciting or distributing literature during working hours.  However, in a 2-1 split with Member McFerran dissenting, the Board found the employer did...

Nestle USA, Inc., 18-CA-231008 (Dec. 7, 2020) Under the Wright Line standard, the employer violated Section 8(a)(1) of the National Labor Relations Act (“NLRA”) by discharging an employee after that employee reported and complained about harassment by a line supervisor.  The employee engaged in protected concerted activity by bringing a group complaint about a line...

NLRB Postpones Implementation of Rule Revamping Union Election Procedures On April 1, 2020, the NLRB published a final rule making amendments to its rules and regulations governing union election procedures. Below is a description of the amendments to the election rules: Changes to Blocking Charge Policy A major criticism of the current election rules has...

Apogee Retail LLC, 368 NLRB No. 144 (Dec. 16, 2019) The Board overruled Banner Estrella Medical Center, holding that blanket rules requiring confidentiality during open investigations are presumptively lawful. The Banner Estrella decision had required a legitimate and substantial business justification for investigative confidentiality rules, placing the burden on the employer to show on a...

LA Specialty Produce Co., 368 NLRB No. 93 (Oct. 10, 2019) The decision confirms an employer may prohibit employees from disclosing client/vendor lists and that the Board generally categorizes rules that prohibit the disclosure of confidential and proprietary customer and vendor lists as Category 1(a) rules under Boeing.  The decision also confirms an employer may...

Electrolux Home Prods., Inc., 368 NLRB No. 34 (Aug. 2, 2019) The employer did not violate Sections 8(a)(3) and (1) by discharging an employee union activist even though the employer’s justification for terminating her was a made-up excuse. The NLRB General Counsel failed to carry his burden of demonstrating the employee’s union activity was a...

Tegna, Inc. d/b/a KGW-TV, 367 NLRB No. 71 (Jan. 17, 2019) The employer, a broadcast television station, violated Section 8(a)(5) and (1) by failing and refusing to provide certain information related to its market share, ratings, and indicia of viewership; reports, analyses, data, or other documents concerning competition from other media outlets, in Portland and...

Johnston Fire Svcs., LLC, 367 NLRB No. 49 (Jan. 3, 2019) Under the Bourne test, the employer did not unlawfully interrogate an employee during a discharge interview.  The company owner did not interfere with, restrain, or coerce the employee in the exercise of his Section 7 rights because only one of the five Bourne factors...

PROTECTED EMPLOYEE ACTIVITY ORGANIZATIONAL AND PRE-ELECTION ACTIVITY Employees’ inability to represent themselves.  Hendrickson USA, LLC, 366 NLRB No. 7 (Jan. 25, 2018) (Employer lawfully told employees signing authorization cards or electing the union would negatively impact their ability to individually represent themselves. Democratic panel majority held employer unlawfully told employees if they were to elect...

  Fall 2017 Key Decisions International Association of Bridge, Structural, Ornamental, and Reinforcing Iron Workers, Local 229, AFL-CIO (Commercial Metals Company d/b/a CMC Rebar), 365 NLRB No. 126 (August 30, 2017). The Union violated Section 8(b)(4)(i)(B) by: (1) sending a text message to employees of the Charging Party stating “Friends Don’t Let Friends Cross Picket...