Last year, I mentioned that I was growing a bit tired about writing about social media in the workplace. It’s not that the topic isn’t interesting; it’s just that there isn’t that much new to discuss. For those of us who have been writing about it for years, we’ve seen much of this for a… Continue Reading
Tag Archives: nlra
Class Action Waiver For Employment? Not So Fast, Says the NLRB
Posted in Class Actions, Labor Law & NRLBLast year, I talked a lot about a U.S. Supreme Court case that seemed to open the door for employers to use mandatory arbitration agreements that precluded employees from using class actions to sue their employers. But I noted at the time that this was a quickly shifting landscape. A few days ago, the NLRB… Continue Reading
NLRB Announces Final Rule to Expedite Elections
Posted in Labor Law & NRLBEarlier this month, I posted about new labor law posters that employers need to use, perhaps as early as late January 2012. Now on Wednesday comes news that the NLRB has adopted a final rule amending its election case procedures. Labor Relations Today reports that this will “shorten the time between the filing of a… Continue Reading
What Would The NLRB Think of Apple’s Social Media Policy?
Posted in Labor Law & NRLB, Social MediaThis morning, I had the opportunity to talk with members of the Greater Valley Chamber of Commerce about social media and the law. My thanks to that organization for the invitation. We talked for a while about the National Labor Relations Board’s stance on broad social media policies — something which I’ve discussed many times… Continue Reading
The NLRB’s Obsession with Social Media Continues
Posted in Labor Law & NRLB, Social MediaA confession. I’m a little tired about writing about social media and labor law. Perhaps you are a little tired about reading about it too. Unfortunately for us both, expect a lot more about it over the next years because the National Labor Relations Board has social media in its sights and its not letting… Continue Reading
NLRB Administrative Law Judge: Facebook Firings Illegal
Posted in Labor Law & NRLB, Social MediaFor a while now, there’s been a lot of chatter about the NLRB’s take on social media and whether employees’ use of Facebook could be “protected concerted activity”. I’ve done many recaps including here and here. Now, for the first time, an administrative law judge (in Hispanics United of Buffalo) has found that employees’ comments… Continue Reading
NLRB Shifts Workplace Landscape, As Expected; New Posters Required Soon
Posted in Labor Law & NRLB, Laws and RegulationsAs I mentioned last week (when in Connecticut, we were focused on Irene), the NLRB has been busy in August issuing new rules and new rulings. Some people are expressing surprise at the shift seen in these rules and disgust that prior NLRB rules are effectively being overturned. But none of this should be surprising… Continue Reading
Chamber of Commerce Releases Report on NLRB & Social Media
Posted in Labor Law & NRLB, Social MediaLast week, while I was out on vacation, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce released an interesting report analyzing all of the NLRB’s actions in cases involving social media. You can read the report here. The report confirms something that I’ve commented on before — that many of the cases are (or were handled) at the… Continue Reading
NLRB: Not All Employee Facebook Posts Deserve Protection After All
Posted in Highlight, Labor Law & NRLB, Social MediaLast fall, the NLRB made headlines when it brought a complaint against a Connecticut employer for disciplining an employee for her Facebook posts. Back then, some commentators wondered what the limits were going to be. But over the last few weeks, quietly, we’ve been getting some of the answers. Just not in the format you’re… Continue Reading
More About the NLRB’s Proposed Rules on So-Called “Quickie Elections”
Posted in Labor Law & NRLB, Laws and RegulationsThis morning, I appeared on Ray Dunaway’s show on WTIC radio (1080 AM) to discuss the NLRB’s new proposed rules on union representation elections. (A link will be available when it is posted online.) Of course, in 5 minutes, there wasn’t much time to explain everything about it (here’s a summary of the proposals from… Continue Reading
“Captive Audience” Bill Clears Connecticut House But Is It Even Constitutional?
Posted in Legislative DevelopmentsLast night, after many hours of debate, the Connecticut House passed the so-called "captive audience" bill that would prohibit employers from requiring their workers to attend meetings concerning views on politics and religion. But the truth is the bill (H.B. 5460) is really about one thing: prohibiting employers from talking about unions when a vote on… Continue Reading
Personnel Policies Up to Date? NLRB May Take Issue; CBA Seminar Recap Part II
Posted in Human Resources (HR) Compliance, Labor Law & NRLBYesterday, I started my recap of the Connecticut Bar Association seminar on social media & employment law that I had the opportunity to speak at. In today’s post, I’m going to focus on another portion of what NLRB Regional Director Jonathan Kreisberg said at the seminar — something that may impact employers that have unions… Continue Reading
Time to Modernize Workplace Laws: What Aspects Can Be Updated?
Posted in Human Resources (HR) ComplianceLet’s go back to 1935. You remember that time, right? Well, in 1935, Babe Ruth retired from baseball. A gallon of gas cost 10 cents. Igor Sikorsky was still working on developing the helicopter in Connecticut. And we were still 10 years away from even ideas like Dick Tracy’s Two-Way Wrist Radio. It was also… Continue Reading
For School Boards, Conn. Supreme Court Clarifies Rules Regarding Dealings with Unions
Posted in LitigationThe Connecticut Supreme Court, in Board of Education v. State Board of Labor Relations, (a decision that will be officially released next week), clarified when it is appropriate for education officials to deal directly with employees and when the union needs to be brought in. The court adopted federal NLRA principles in doing so. The decision… Continue Reading
NLRB Alleges that Connecticut Company Illegally Fired Employee Over Comments on Facebook
Posted in Human Resources (HR) Compliance, Labor Law & NRLB, Social MediaUPDATED 2/7/11 – The case settled today. See this update. In an unprecedented case, the NLRB is pushing all in over the battle on social media. And its press release today leaves little doubt where it is placing its chips — strongly in the employee’s favor. I had heard about this case a few weeks… Continue Reading
Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA): Likelihood of Passage in Current Form Dims
Posted in Legislative DevelopmentsOver the last few weeks or so, plenty of commentators have been hyperventilating over the Employee Free Choice Act — a bill pending in Congress. I’ve resisted the urge to do so in the belief that we were still a long way from passage and that the concepts in the bill were going to go… Continue Reading
BREAKING NEWS: UAW/Foxwoods Agree To Discussions…And May Apply Tribal Law
Posted in Class Actions, Human Resources (HR) Compliance, Labor Law & NRLBWhile most people are focusing on Connecticut’s ruling legalizing same-sex marriages, word leaked out late today that the UAW and Foxwoods agreed to enter into discussions for a possible labor agreement. (For background on the UAW/Foxwoods dispute, see prior blog coverage here.) The joint press release — issued at 4:30 EST — is brief but dramatic… Continue Reading
No Surprise: Foxwoods Declines to Bargain with UAW; Formal Appeal to Follow, Later This Summer
Posted in Labor Law & NRLB, LitigationThis should come as a surprise to no one, particuarly given my prior posts, but Foxwoods Casino (properly known as the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation) today formally declined to bargain with the UAW over a contract for approximately 3000 table game dealers, setting up an appeal that will focus on sovereign immunity grounds. The Day first… Continue Reading
Update: Foxwoods Will Appeal NLRB Decision
Posted in Labor Law & NRLB, LitigationYesterday, I reported that the NLRB had issued a decision certifying the election last fall of the UAW as the bargaining representative of the Foxwoods Casino Table Dealers. Since that last post, the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation has released a statement indicating that they will, in fact, appeal the decision. The Day has the details… Continue Reading
NLRB Certifies Election of Union to Represent Foxwoods Casino Dealers
Posted in Labor Law & NRLB, LitigationLeave it to a government agency to release a long-awaited decision right before the July 4th holiday. Since it is a vacation week, this afternoon’s post will be brief. I’ll followup again when there is more to report, including press statements that are expected to be released on the subject. For those first looking for background… Continue Reading
Foxwoods Union Election Update: Workers Reject Engineers Union
Posted in Labor Law & NRLB, LitigationIt’s been a little while since we last checked in with the unionization efforts at Foxwoods. The appeal process of the election of UAW has begun its slow arduous process so don’t expect to hear much on this for weeks or months at a time. But in the meantime, various other groups have been vying… Continue Reading
Rep. Courtney Speaks Out on the Employee Free Choice Act and the Foxwoods/UAW Election
Posted in Labor Law & NRLB, Legislative DevelopmentsOne of the bills in Congress this year that is expected to be heavily debated is the Employee Free Choice Act. What is it? Workplace Horizons has this take on it: "The Employee Free Choice Act (H.R. 800; S. 1041) would amend the National Labor Relations Act to make it significantly easier for unions to… Continue Reading
Foxwoods/UAW – The Hearing Resumes With New Details About Alleged Harassment of Dealers
Posted in Labor Law & NRLB, LitigationThe hearing by the NLRB into objections raised by Foxwoods resumed Wednesday with new details about alleged harassment experienced by dealers in the course of the election last fall. (For background on the objections and the elections, click here.) As usual, The Day is quick with the details this morning. According to the report, one… Continue Reading
Foxwoods/UAW – A Quick Update
Posted in Labor Law & NRLB, LitigationNLRB Hearings are best left to those who have lots of patience and time, two things I’m missing this week. Thus, unless there are major developments that occur, I’ll only briefly recap where things stand, on occasion, on the ongoing Foxwoods/UAW saga. Yesterday, the NLRB (also called "The Board") denied Foxwoods’ Request for Review, which… Continue Reading
About Daniel Schwartz
Trusted advisor. Experienced employment law attorney. Bar leader. Award-winning author. Noted Speaker. "Legal Rebel". All can be said to be apt descriptions of Daniel Schwartz, a member of Pullman & Comley. More +
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