In early 1999, the Venetian Casino Resort in Las Vegas asked police officers to remove union protesters from a temporary walkway in front of the Venetian — a walkway the Venetian built on its property in exchange for the public expansion of the Las Vegas Strip to accommodate increased vehicular traffic.
Concerted Activity
In a World Where Talking to Yourself May Now Qualify as “Concerted” Activity . . .
By Seyfarth Shaw LLP on
Where up is down and left means right, talking to yourself may now qualify as “concerted” activity under the current NLRB. In Berkeley Preparatory School, Inc. and Kathi Grau, a teacher at a private, non-profit, religious school yelled to herself “THIS PLACE SUCKS!” after being asked by another employee to provide…
NLRB Sets Its Sights on McDonald’s and Other Franchisors
By Seyfarth Shaw LLP on
By: Ronald J. Kramer, Esq.
On December 19, 2014, the NLRB General Counsel’s Office issued thirteen consolidated complaints against the purported unfair labor practices of numerous McDonald’s franchisees nationwide, with franchisor McDonald’s USA LLC being named as a co-defendant on a joint employer theory. According to the NLRB’s press release, click here, the…
Employees Finally “Face[book]” the Music for “Insubordinate” Posts
By Seyfarth Shaw LLP on
By: Paul Galligan and Howard M. Wexler
In Richmond District Neighborhood Center, 361 NLRB No. 74 (2014) (“Richmond”) the National Labor Relations Board (“Board”) affirmed an ALJ’s decision (previously discussed here) finding that the “insubordinate” and “egregious” Facebook comments of two employees went too far and thus lost protection of the Act, justifying…
NLRB and EEOC Leaders Caution Against Looking at Employment Applicants’ Social Media Activity
By Seyfarth Shaw LLP on
On Wednesday, November 12, 2014, NLRB General Counsel Richard Griffin, NLRB Board Member Harry Johnson, and EEOC Commissioner Chai Feldblum participated in a panel discussion that touched upon employers’ use of social media during the hiring process. Their remarks highlighted the need for employers to be cautious about looking at…
NLRB Holds Unwritten Confidentiality Policy Prohibiting Employee From Discussing His Disciplinary Record Violates NLRA
By Seyfarth Shaw LLP on
Posted in Concerted Activity, Protected Concerted Activity
By: Michele Haydel Gehrke, Esq.
In a 2-1 decision with Board Member Philip Miscimarra dissenting, the National Labor Relations Board recently held that Philips Electronics North America Corp. violated Section 8(a)(1) of the National Labor Relations Act by having an unwritten confidentiality rule prohibiting employees from discussing their disciplinary records. Philips Electronics North America…
NLRB Affirms Ruling That Employer Maintained Unlawful “No Gossip Policy”
By Seyfarth Shaw LLP on
By: Howard M. Wexler, Esq. & Joshua D. Seidman, Esq.
As we previously blogged about – most recently here and here, the NLRB has taken aim at employer workplace rules that it contends are unlawfully restricting employees’ Section 7 rights.
On June 13, 2014 the NLRB affirmed an ALJ decision issued in…
REJECTED: Fifth Circuit Denies NLRB’s Petition for Rehearing En Banc in D.R. Horton
By Seyfarth Shaw LLP on
By: Ronald J. Kramer, Esq.
Earlier today, April 16, 2014, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals denied the NLRB’s petition for rehearing en banc in D.R. Horton v. NLRB, No. 12-60031 (5th Cir. Dec. 3, 2013). D.R. Horton is the decision in which the Fifth Circuit reversed the NLRB’s determination (357 NLRB No.…
If I Said It On Facebook It Must Be Protected…Right? Not So Fast!
By: Paul Galligan and Howard M. Wexler
The National Labor Relations Board’s focus on all things social media is a topic that we have previously covered on several occasions, most recently here and here. While the Board routinely holds that the NLRA gives employees some leeway for, shall we say, “unprofessional” behavior–including when such…
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 Seyfarth Shaw LLP on
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…