We’ve been keeping you apprised of the many developments over the past few years coming from the United States Supreme Court and other courts concerning agreements between employers and their employees to arbitrate disputes arising out of the employment relationship.  The Supreme Court’s decision last term in Epic Systems v. Lewis, which we discussed in our post here, garnered significant attention as it addressed the National Labor Relations Board’s (“NLRB”) several-years’-running position that…

Right-to-work laws prohibit employers from entering into union security or “closed shop” agreements with unions that require employees to join and financially support a union in order to obtain employment.  Twenty-seven U.S. states presently have such laws.  In some states that do not have these laws, cities have passed local right-to-work ordinances to apply to employers doing business in their city.  These municipal-level efforts to address right-to-work issues are routinely challenged by labor unions as…

Rule Would Return To Direct and Immediate Control Test, But Adds New Requirement That Such Control Be “Substantial” On September 14, 2018, the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB” or the “Board”) published in the Federal Register a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (“Notice”) proposing a new rule to be applied by the NLRB to determine whether an employer may be considered a joint employer of a separate employer’s employees.  This development is the latest in the…

The Social Security Administration (“SSA”) recently announced that in 2019, it will restart its mismatch letter notification program.  Through “mismatch” letters, formally titled “Employer Correction Requests,” the SSA notifies employers that the social security number (“SSN”) and name reported for one or more employees does not match SSA records.  These notification letters advise employers that a SSN mismatch is not an assumption of SSN falsification or other misconduct.  Mismatches can be caused by typographical errors,…

On July 10, 2018, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) announced the launch of a new pilot program to enhance the use of its existing alternative dispute resolution (ADR) program. Since 2005, the NLRB has offered assistance to parties in settling unfair labor practice matters pending before the Board through ADR procedures.  According to the agency’s website, mediators helping participants through the ADR program have reached settlements in about 60 percent of cases, and all…

If confirmed, the Court would have a solid pro-business, pro-employer majority President Trump’s nomination on July 9, 2018 of District of Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh to the U.S. Supreme Court – President Trump’s second nominee in just a year and a half  – is likely to make the top U.S. court the most business- and employer-friendly it has been in decades.  A graduate of Yale Law School, Judge Kavanaugh served…

By Wm. Michael Hanna, Emily R. Spivack, and Dylan Yepez On June 27, 2018, the United States Supreme Court decided in a 5-4 decision that public sector unions may no longer collect so-called “fair share” fees from non-members.  The decision will have broad implications for public sector unions and employers. Fair share fees are charged to individuals who fall within a bargaining unit, but choose not to join the union.  Typically, employers deduct…