Labor & Employment Law Update

On August 29, 2022, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) examined workplace restrictions on the display of union insignia where employers require employees to wear uniforms or designated clothing. In a 3-2 ruling, the NLRB decided that Tesla, Inc. violated labor law by restricting employees from wearing pro-union t-shirts because such restriction implicitly prohibits workers from substituting union attire for required uniforms.

The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals ruled last week that a contractual choice of law provision was irrelevant to whether workers were employees or independent contractors and to whether pay deductions were lawful.

Check out some of the most recent state law updates on COVID-19, employee rights, minimum wage and paid leave.

Join us on Wednesday, September 21 at noon for a live-stream of our Eighth Annual Labor & Employment Fall Seminar as we discuss hiring, onboarding and retention. Our attorneys will discuss everything from the initial interview to the written job offer and everything in between.

On August 16, 2022, the 7^th Circuit Court of Appeals rejected the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s  (EEOC) attempt to increase the level of scrutiny given to sex discrimination cases under the Pregnancy Discrimination Act and the Civil Rights Act of 1964.  With this ruling the Appellate Court affirmed a summary judgment award given to a large retail chain by a District Court in Wisconsin.

In a continuance of the labor-friendly trajectory of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) under the current administration, the 9th Circuit recently issued a decision upholding the right of the NLRB to award legal fees to a union incurred during the collective bargaining process. This ruling should put all unionized employers on notice of the ripple effects of decisions such as this one on their own bargaining.

In Constellium Rolled Products Ravenswood v. NLRB, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit addressed the tension between a worker’s? Section 7 protected and concerted activity rights under the National Labor Relations Act and workplace harassment that’s forbidden by workplace anti-bias laws.  In a 2-1 ruling, the Court of Appeals held that the NLRB had adequate justification to rule that an employer violated federal labor law for firing a worker who wrote “whore board” on overtime sign-up sheets despite the employer’s contention that it was enforcing its anti-harassment policy.

States are becoming more focused on labor relations! Check out some of the most recent state law updates on employer-employee relationships, minimum wage and paid leave.

If we were to tell you that the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) recently entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) “Regarding Information Sharing, Cross-Agency Training, and Outreach in Areas of Common Regulatory Interest,” your response may well be “What?  Why?  And what ‘Common Regulatory Interest’ could they possibly share?”  Well, good questions.

Check out some of the recent updates in COVID-19 regulations, discrimination policies, minimum wage and more!