By: Seyfarth Synopsis: On Friday, December 1, 2017, newly appointed NLRB General Counsel Peter Robb issued a memorandum containing a broad overview of his initial agenda as General Counsel. It previews many anticipated developments during the Trump Administration. Our blog is exploring a different aspect of the memo each day during the
NLRB About-Face Highlights Lack of Reasoning on the Class Action “Right” It Seeks to Assert
By: Andrew L. Scroggins, Noah A. Finkel, and David S. Baffa
Seyfarth Synopsis: The NLRB has withdrawn the significant concession it offered at oral argument on the nature of the NLRA rights it seeks to assert in the face of employers’ mandatory arbitration programs.
As noted in our earlier blog post,
Board Defers to Arbitrator’s Award Upholding Management Rights–But for How Long?
By: Ronald J. Kramer, Esq.
Seyfarth Synopsis: In Weavexx, LLC the Board deferred to an arbitrator’s finding that the employer had the right to change its payday and pay cycle without first bargaining. The bigger question is how much longer will such charges be deferred pending arbitration, and the extent to which the Board
NLRB Assumes a Position on Employee Classification in the On-Demand Economy
By: Paul Galligan, Esq. & Samuel Sverdlov, Esq.
Seyfarth Synopsis: By filing a complaint against Postmates, Inc. challenging their arbitration waiver, the NLRB assumed that couriers for Postmates are employees, rather than independent contractors.
Earlier this month, the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) filed a complaint and notice of hearing against Postmates,
And Now There Are Two: The Ninth Circuit Strikes Class Arbitration Waivers Joining The Seventh Circuit On Finding That These Waivers Violate The NLRA
Seyfarth Synopsis: The Ninth Circuit joined the Seventh Circuit and the NLRB in finding that mandatory arbitration agreements that require all claims to be brought by employees on an individual basis violate the NLRA.
On August 22, 2016, the Ninth Circuit issued an opinion in Morris v. Ernst & Young,
NLRB Makes Sweeping Changes to Arbitration Deferral Standards
By: Bryan R. Bienias
On Monday of this week, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB or Board) abandoned over 30 years of precedent and significantly modified the standards for the deferral of certain unfair labor practice charges to contractual arbitration procedures. This change likely will call into question the finality of arbitration awards in future
Divided Supreme Court Finds Fair Share Fees For “Partial-Public Employees” Unconstitutional
By: Ronald J. Kramer and Joshua L. Ditelberg
Earlier today the Supreme Court issued its decision in Harris v. Quinn, Case No. 11-681 (June 30, 2014), finding in a 5 to 4 decision that the First Amendment prohibits the collection of “fair share,” or agency fees from Illinois Rehabilitation Program personal assistants. The Court
NLRB Invites Briefs Regarding the Board’s Standard for Deferral to Arbitration Awards
By: Kenneth R. Dolin, Esq.
The National Labor Relations Board recently invited interested parties to file briefs in Babcock & Wilcox Construction Inc., Case 28-CA-022625, to determine whether the Board should continue, modify, or abandon the Olin/Spielberg standard for deferral to arbitration awards.
Under the existing standard, the Board defers to an
Where Will It Stop? ALJ Takes Controversial D.R. Horton Decision One Step Further
By: Anne D. Harris, Esq.
Despite heavy criticism and the Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit’s recent invalidation of the National Labor Relations Board’s (“NLRB”) D.R. Horton decision, the NLRB has not revised its position on class action waivers in employment arbitration agreements. Perhaps not surprisingly, the Board has not only ignored the
Let’s Give Thanks: Administrative Law Judge Rules NLRB’s D.R. Horton Decision Banning Class Action Waivers Is Unsustainable In Light Of Recent Supreme Court Arbitration Precedent
By: Michele Haydel Gehrke, Esq.
On November 8, 2013, Administrative Law Judge Bruce D. Rosenstein upheld a class action waiver in a mandatory employment arbitration agreement notwithstanding the NLRB’s controversial ruling in D.R. Horton banning such class action waivers because they purportedly chill employees’ rights to engage in concerted protected activity under Section 7