Labor Relations Law Insider

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December 14, 2020

On November 16, 2020, the Missouri Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the case of Missouri National Education Association, et al. v. Missouri Department of Labor and Industrial Relations, et al., Ferguson-Florissant School District, et al, challenging a circuit court ruling that House Bill 1413 (HB 1413), a public labor union reform law, is unconstitutional in its entirety. The circuit court held that the 2018 law unlawfully discriminates against certain public labor unions representing first…

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Understanding Employers’ Right to Impose Limits on Political Activities in the Workplace

By Terry Potter & Timothy A. Hilton

October 26, 2020

As the 2020 general election approaches with many employees working remotely and participating on social media platforms, employers can anticipate that employees will engage in political speech and activity in the workplace. Political speech includes a wide spectrum of activities beyond communicating by written or spoken words on a political topic. Other forms of expression that constitute political speech include wearing clothing or other accoutrements endorsing or opposing a person, party or issue; engaging…

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Ninth Circuit: Court Decides Threshold Arbitration Issue Absent Clear and Unmistakable Evidence

By Julia Farrell & Kayt Kopen

September 30, 2020

On September 18, 2020, a three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit U. S. Court of Appeals held in SEIU Local 121RN v. Los Robles Regional Medical Center, DBA Los Robles Hospital and Medical Center (Los Robles) that the power to decide whether a grievance is arbitrable in labor cases resides with the federal court and not the arbitrator absent “clear and unmistakable” evidence to the contrary. The Los Robles decision overturns the Ninth Circuit decision…

Labor Relations Law Insider

Long Awaited – Abusive Conduct Is Not Protected Activity

By Terry Potter & Sonni Fort Nolan

July 23, 2020

On July 21, 2020, the NLRB released the decision General Motors LLC and Charles Robinson (GM) which is significant not only for its substance but for its timing. The GM decision held that abusive conduct and speech is not protected §7 activity and applied the burden-shifting rule under the Wright Line standard to evaluate challenged disciplinary actions connected with §7 activity. In a time of social tension amid protests against racism and sexism, the decision…

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Employers Not Obligated to Bargain with Union over Discipline While Negotiating a First Contract

By Jon Anderson & Tom O'Day

July 3, 2020

Business People Handshake Greeting Deal Concept

When a workforce organizes a union and a labor contract is still months away, human resource issues continue to arise. Often the issue turns on whether the employer has an obligation to bargain with the new union prior to the imposition of workplace discipline. Prior to 2016, under long-settled case law, employers had no statutory obligation to bargain with the new union about discretionary discipline as long as the discipline imposed was materially consistent with the…

Labor Relations Law Insider

NLRB Decisions Restore Employers’ Right to Use Work Rules to Control Workplace

By Terry Potter & Sonni Fort Nolan

June 9, 2020

During the last half of May 2020, the National Labor Relations Board (Board) issued four decisions upholding the legality of employer facially neutral work rules. Two of the decisions applied the Boeing standard to assess the legality of work rules or policies while the other two decisions restored past precedent to find that an employers’ property rights outweighed employees’ right to engage in protected activities under §7 of the National Labor Relations Act (Act). The…

Labor Relations Law Insider

Protecting Concerted Activity during the COVID-19 Pandemic

By Terry Potter

April 14, 2020

Key Points Media policies which prohibit employees from communicating with the media must be narrowly tailored to protect legitimate business interests such as protecting confidential information and controlling statements made on behalf of the employer; and Media policies that specifically exclude communications by employees that are not made on behalf of the employer and that relate to labor disputes or other concerted communications for the mutual aid or protection under the National Labor Relations Act…

Labor Relations Law Insider

Confidentiality and No-Participation Provisions in Voluntary Severance Agreements Lawful

By Terry Potter & Kat Pearlstone

April 7, 2020

On March 16, 2020, the Board issued its decision in Baylor University Medical Center and Dora S. Camacho reversing the 2018 ALJ decision and holding that Confidentiality and No Participation in Third-Party Claim provisions in a voluntary severance agreement are lawful. The decision overrules Clark Distribution System, Shamrock Foods Co., and Metro Networks to the extent the holdings extend beyond their fact patterns involving employees who were unlawfully dismissed for exercising their…

Labor Relations Law Insider

Labor Relations Issues and COVID-19: Avoiding NLRA Violations through Proactive Measures

By Terry Potter, Jon Anderson & Tom O'Day

March 20, 2020

COVID-19 presents a formidable health and safety challenge to employers, and unionized employers also must address issues in the context of their obligations under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) and a collective bargaining agreement. The broad range of issues includes both mandatory subjects of bargaining and business decisions that impact the employees of the bargaining unit. Such issues include health and safety concerns, attendance and staffing issues, wage and hour issues, leave issues, changes…

Labor Relations Law Insider

NLRB Denies Collective Bargaining Rights to Adjunct Faculty at Religious University

By Terry Potter & Derek T. Teeter

February 17, 2020

Husch Blackwell issued a client legal alert regarding the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit’s decision in Duquesne University of the Holy Spirit v. NLRB, which resulted in the denial of collective bargaining rights to adjunct faculty members employed by Duquesne University, a religious university. In summary, the court held that the National Labor Relations Board lacked jurisdiction over the religious institution, including all of its faculty members, consistent with the Supreme…

Labor Relations Law Insider

Blog Authors

Missouri Supreme Court to Decide Constitutionality of Public Labor Reform Law

Understanding Employers’ Right to Impose Limits on Political Activities in the Workplace

Ninth Circuit: Court Decides Threshold Arbitration Issue Absent Clear and Unmistakable Evidence

Long Awaited – Abusive Conduct Is Not Protected Activity

Employers Not Obligated to Bargain with Union over Discipline While Negotiating a First Contract

NLRB Decisions Restore Employers’ Right to Use Work Rules to Control Workplace

Protecting Concerted Activity during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Confidentiality and No-Participation Provisions in Voluntary Severance Agreements Lawful

Labor Relations Issues and COVID-19: Avoiding NLRA Violations through Proactive Measures

NLRB Denies Collective Bargaining Rights to Adjunct Faculty at Religious University

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