Another Obama-era National Labor Relations Board policy may be on the ropes.  Four years ago, the Board issued its controversial Purple Communications decision.  In that case, it determined that employees have the right to use employers’ email systems to unionize and engage in other activities protected under the National Labor Relations Act. You can access our break down of Purple Communications here. On August 1, the Board approved an invitation to file briefs on…

If you have followed our blog over the past year, you are aware of the long and tortured history of the National Labor Relations Board’s joint employer standard.  The recent history starts with the Obama Board’s decision to overturn decades of case law.  But the saga continued. Just last month, we reported on the Trump Board’s proposal to promulgate regulations adopting a joint employer standard.  According to the Board, issuing regulations will clear up…

What should a Pennsylvania employer do when an employee seeks workers’ compensation benefits after injuring himself by engaging in risky behavior at work?  Companies may be tempted to take the position that workers’ compensation isn’t available to workers who hurt themselves by intentionally doing dangerous things on the job.  Recently, however, the Commonwealth Court found that Pennsylvania’s Workers’ Compensation Act requires a more nuanced analysis. In Wilgro Services, Inc. v. WCAB, the claimant was employed…

In September, President Trump nominated management-side labor and employment lawyer Peter Robb to replace Richard Griffin, whose term expired on November 4, 2017, as general counsel to the National Labor Relations Board.  Yesterday, the United States Senate confirmed Robb’s appointment to the position. As general counsel, Robb will play an important role at the NLRB.  He is now responsible for overseeing the Board’s regional offices and legal staff nationwide.  He also has broad discretion to…

An ever-increasing number of employers are sponsoring wellness incentives as a means of encouraging employees to developing healthy habits. In turn, employers gain healthier, more productive work forces.  Wellness incentive programs aren’t without their risks, however.  In this podcast, Denise Elliott discusses whether employees are covered by workers’ compensation benefits for injuries sustained while participating in an employer-sponsored wellness program.…

Our friends in the Intellectual Property Group know that an employer’s trade secrets are among its most valuable assets.  In this podcast, Carol Steinour Young shares the ways in which employers can protect trade secrets in the midst of employee defections.…

LGBTQ workplace rights is perhaps the most rapidly evolving area in employment law.  On October 4, 2017, United States Attorney General Jeff Sessions formally weighed in on the topic.  He issued a memorandum to all federal prosecutors declaring that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 does not prohibit employment discrimination based on transgender status.  According to the memo, “Title VII’s prohibition on sex discrimination encompasses discrimination between men and women but does…