NLRB Union Protests Board Chair and GC

Darrell VanDeusen
Darrell VanDeusen
11/12/2018
The National Labor Relations Board, we are told, is supposed to be the neutral government agency that addresses workplace issues between unions and employers.   And I saw a pink unicorn on the way to work this morning.   It is not unusual to hear employers sometimes suggest they are skeptical of the Board’s supposed “neutral” stance.  A number of decisions coming from the NLRB during the Obama presidency could be characterized as...
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NLRB's Office of General Counsel Issues More Advice Memoranda

Kollman & Saucier
Kollman & Saucier
10/11/2018
On September 14, 2018, the NLRB's Office of General Counsel (OGC) issued a handful of advice memos, several of which are summarized here: The misclassification of employees as independent contractors violates the NLRA because misclassification has and will operate as a restraint on, and interference with, the individuals' exercise of their Section 7 rights.   Telemundo Television Studios, LLC (June 13, 2017). Just like employees, independent...
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SSA To Resume Sending “No-Match” Letters

Clifford Geiger
Clifford Geiger
09/20/2018
Beginning in 2019, the Social Security Administration (SSA) will resume sending “no-match” letters to employers when information submitted on tax forms does not match SSA records. Typically, the name and social security number reported by a worker on Form W-4 does not match the information in SSA databases.  The practice was ended by the Obama administration in 2012, the same year the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program was...
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OSHA Signals The End Of The New Electronic Reporting Requirements

Kollman & Saucier
Kollman & Saucier
08/22/2018
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to rescind the majority of its contentious electronic reporting requirements. You may recall, back in May 2016, OSHA issued a final rule requiring employers with 250 or more employees to submit electronically Forms 300 (Log of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses), 300A (Summary of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses) and 301 (Injury and...
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NLRB Seeks Input on Non-Work Related Use of Company Email Systems

Kollman & Saucier
Kollman & Saucier
08/08/2018
As some readers may be aware, last year, the National Labor Relations Board (the Board) reversed several Obama-era precedent setting cases bearing standards generally considered favorable to employees.  This included The Boeing Company, 365 NLRB No. 154 (2017) (overruling the Lutheran Heritage standard); PCC Structurals, Inc., 365 NLRB No. 160 (2017) (overruling the Specialty Healthcare standard); and Hy-Brand, 365 NLRB No. 156 (2017)...
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NLRB: Solo Strike May Be Protected Activity

Kollman & Saucier
Kollman & Saucier
07/06/2018
The National Labor Relations Board’s (NLRB) Division of Advice recently published an advice memorandum clarifying that the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) can protect employees who engage in a solo strike. The memorandum centered on a former employee who was terminated from a Papa John’s restaurant in South Carolina after taking part in an August 2016 “Fight for $15” rally organized by several groups, including the Southern Workers...
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DOL Expands Association Health Plans While Trump Proposes Agency Restructure

Kollman & Saucier
Kollman & Saucier
06/22/2018
This week, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) made headlines with a final rule affecting small businesses and other entities and a merger proposed by the Trump Administration that could change the structure of the agency as we know it. Expanding Access to Association Health Plans On June 19, the DOL issued a final rule enabling small businesses, including self-employed individuals, to join in forming Association Health Plans (AHPs) for purposes of...
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FLSA Tip Regulations Facing Repeal By DOL

Kollman & Saucier
Kollman & Saucier
02/16/2018
Prior to and during my college years, I supported myself by working as a server in restaurants.  It was fast-paced, hard work with very long hours most of the time.  Dealing with hungry and demanding diners also had its mentally exhausting moments.  My restaurant job history is near and dear to my heart.  So when I learned about the Department of Justice’s proposal to remove Obama-era regulations prohibiting certain employers...
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DOL Reissues Opinion Letters Rescinded in 2009

Darrell VanDeusen
Darrell VanDeusen
01/10/2018
Last June, the U.S. Department of Labor announced that was reinstating Wage & Hour Opinion Letters. The agency also revamped its website where Opinion Letters and other guidance live. See https://www.dol.gov/whd/opinion/guidance.htm Now, the DOL has reissued more than a dozen advisory opinion letters that had been published late in George W. Bush’s administration but then rescinded by the Obama DOL. These letters could give employers guidance...
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DOL Ends Six-Factor Intern Test; Adopts “Primary Beneficiary” Standard

Darrell VanDeusen
Darrell VanDeusen
01/08/2018
Last Friday, the United States Department of Labor made the following announcement: “On Dec. 19, 2017, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit became the fourth federal appellate court to expressly reject the U.S. Department of Labor’s six-part test for determining whether interns and students are employees under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The Department of Labor today clarified that going forward, the Department will conform...
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