By: Saman Haque and Cary Burke

Seyfarth Synopsis: Recently, an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ), issued a decision in two cases that create the opportunity for the National Labor Relations Act to have a more expansive view of what constitutes protected activity. The ALJ’s decision could also provide employees an expanded definition of protected activity by

By:  Kyllan B.Kershaw, Esq.

Seyfarth Synopsis: The Fifth Circuit upheld the NLRB’s expedited union election rules on Friday, rejecting an appeal from construction-industry employers and small businesses

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit upheld the National Labor Relations Board’s expedited election rules, rejecting an appeal by the Associated Builders and Contractors of

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

By: Amanda A. Sonneborn

Continuing to push the limits of reason, the Board recently upheld an ALJ’s decision finding that an employer unlawfully suspended a striking employee who made an obscene gesture and “grabbed his crotch” towards another employee while on the picket line. As one might expect, the employer concluded that the employee who

By: Michael J. Rybicki, Esq.

Employers frequently express extreme frustration and bewilderment with respect to the Board and its decisions. We can only imagine how the owners of Plaza Auto Center, Inc. in Yuma, Arizona must feel following the Board’s Supplemental Decision in Plaza Auto Center, Inc., 360 NLRB No. 117, 199 LRRM

By:  Ashley K. Laken, Esq.
On May 19th, an NLRB administrative law judge (“ALJ”) found that a Hooters franchise located in Ontario, California unlawfully fired a waitress after she complained about a bikini contest run by the restaurant. The ALJ also held that Hooters maintained unlawful rules in its employee handbook, and that it

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

By: Howard M. Wexler and Joshua D. Seidman

Water cooler talk, i.e. office gossip, has been a seemingly timeless thorn in many employers’ sides, particularly because of the decrease in worker productivity that such gossip can cause. As such, some employers–with Section 7 rights being the furthest thing from their mind–have tried to limit such