Labor & Employment Developments

The State of Illinois has enacted new laws and amendments that create new requirements and obligations for Illinois employers. Some of them go into effect at the end of this month. All of these will likely require changes to existing policies and procedures at all stages of the employment life cycle, as well as training, existing employment agreements, and separation agreements. Employers should consider retaining legal counsel to assist with ensuring compliance now. Continue reading “New Employment Laws in Illinois Start Going Into Effect on September 29–What You Need to Know Now if You Employ Anyone in Illinois” →

The National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) continued its recent wave of significant decisions on September 10, 2019, when it adopted a new standard for analyzing whether an employer’s unilateral change to terms of employment violates the National Labor Relations Act (“Act”). M.V. Transportation, Inc., 368 NLRB No. 66 (Sep. 10, 2019). The NLRB abandoned its “clear and unmistakable waiver” standard and replaced it with a “contract coverage” standard. Continue reading “NLRB Abandons Long-Standing Precedent Regarding Management’s Ability to Unilaterally Change Terms and Conditions of Employment” →

On September 9, 2019, the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) continued its recent wave of activity in Boeing, 368 NLRB No. 67 (Sep. 9, 2019), by reaffirming its December 2017 decision in PCC Structurals, 355 NLRB No. 160 (2017) (see prior alert here) that outlined when a micro-unit could be appropriate. Continue reading “NLRB Reaffirms Test on “Micro-Units”; Blocks Mechanics Unit at Boeing in South Carolina” →

On Friday, September 6, 2019, the National Labor Relations Board (the “Board”) issued its third decision of the summer regarding employers’ ability to restrict access by nonemployees to its property (see prior analysis: Board Restricts Non-Employee Access to Public Spaces and Board Restricts Access of Off-Duty Contractors). In Kroger Mid-Atlantic, 368 NLRB No. 64 (Sep. 6, 2019), the Board determined that an employer can bar nonemployees from protesting against the employer on the employer’s property while still allowing nonprotest activities such as solicitations for charitable donations or civic groups. In doing so, the Board found the employer’s actions were not discriminatory and overturned a twenty-year-old decision that greatly expanded nonemployee access to employer property. In Kroger Mid-Atlantic, the Board overruled Sandusky Mall and its progeny, finding that it “improperly stretched the concept of discrimination well beyond its accepted meaning in a manner that finds no support in Supreme Court precedent or the policies of the Act.”
Continue reading “NLRB Continues to Define Employer Ability to Protect Property and Access; Overturns Union-Friendly Precedent” →

A property owner generally has the right to control access to its property, including the rights to restrict hours of access, to prohibit certain activities when access is granted, and exclude or prevent access. These rights were affirmed by the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) in a recent decision Friday. Bexar County Performing Arts Center Foundation, 3668 NLRB 46 (2019). Generally, the property owner must balance its managerial interests with its own employees’ Section 7 rights under the National Labor Relations Act (“NLRA”). However, access by nonemployees involves a different analysis. The Supreme Court previously recognized a “distinction ‘of substance’ between the union activities of employees and nonemployees.” Lechmere, Inc. v. NLRB, 502 U.S. 527, 537 (1992). In Bexar County, the NLRB was specifically determining the property owner’s rights relative to off-duty employees of a licensee who are neither employees of the property owner or nonemployees. Continue reading “NLRB Rules that Employers Can Prohibit Access of Off-Duty Employees of Contractors for Section 7 Rights” →

Continue reading “Salary History Bans and the Illinois Amended Equal Pay Act: What Employers Need to Know Now” →

Authors: W. Eric Baisden, Adam Primm

On April 1, 2019, employers received good news with the Department of Labor’s (“DOL”) proposed regulation limiting joint employer liability. As expected (see prior alert regarding NLRB rulemaking), the proposed rule narrows when companies can be considered a joint employer.

Continue reading “Department of Labor Announces Proposed Joint Employer Status Rule” →

Authors: Eric Baisden and Adam Primm

Last month, a California Court of Appeal reaffirmed that California’s Private Attorney General Act (“PAGA”) is outside the scope of the Federal Arbitration Act (“FAA”) and the Supreme Court’s 2018 opinion in Epic Systems v. Lewis (click to see our summary of Epic Systems), confirming what many practitioners already believed. Continue reading “California Court Distinguishes U.S. Supreme Court Ruling Reaffirms PAGA Claims Are Not Subject To Mandatory Arbitration/N.J. Amendment Invalidates Mandatory Arbitration” →

Continue reading “NLRB Advice Memoranda Provides Guidance on Employer Work Rules and Social Media” →

On Friday, January 25, 2019, the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) overruled an Obama-era decision focused on determining whether workers were independent contractors or employees and restored entrepreneurship as a key element in the NLRB’s analysis of the ten factors that comprise the test to determine independent contractor or employee status. SuperShuttle DFW, Inc., No. 16-RC-010963 (Jan. 25, 2019). Continue reading “NLRB Restores Independent Contractor Test in SuperShuttle” →