Category: Labor Law

I have represented Colleges and Universities for 33 years and I love the work.  I was an adjunct at the University of Baltimore Law School for 30 years and I loved that too.  The unique things that happen in the world of higher education never cease to amaze me.  So, through that lens, let’s take a look at a recent decision from the Third Circuit, which provides a variety of teachable moments regarding interaction among faculty, a university’s...

The National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) gives employees the right to engage in protected concerted activity.  The NLRA also makes it an unfair labor practice for an employer “to interfere with, restrain, or coerce employees in the exercise of the rights” under the Act.  Despite the NLRA’s broad protections, an employer may take action against an employee whose conduct exceeds the scope of the Act’s protections.  The conduct underlying a...

Late last month, a NLRB Administrative Law Judge found that a Pennsylvania construction contractor violated the NLRA by screening out applicants with union backgrounds.  Hard Hat Services,  4-CA-196783 (12/27/17). The Judge found that the company improperly asked applicants about their union membership and relied on an on-line recruiting service to screen out applicants who appeared to have union affiliation. The NLRA makes it illegal for an...

In the middle of this holiday season, the NLRB was in a gift-giving mood to employers, updating standards in several important areas of labor law.  In the 48 hours before the expiration of his term (and unconfirmed return to the North Pole), departing Chairman Philip Miscimarra issued three pivotal, 3-2 decisions that will substantially benefit employers going forward in three areas: (1) employee handbooks; (2) joint employment; and (3) bargaining...

A recent decision issued by the National Labor Relations Board demonstrates that sometimes an employee can go too far, and that termination is a proper remedy for improper conduct.  BHC Northwest Psychiatric Hospital, LLC; cases nos. 04-CA-164465, 04-CA-174166, May 15, 2017. BHC operates an in-patient facility that provides mental health services.  The charging party was part of a bargaining unit of staff and charge nurses.  Mental health...

President Trump recently announced the two individuals he will nominate to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).  The announcement, covered in a prior blog entry, is the next step in changing the trajectory of the NLRB from its heavy employee tilt toward a more employer-friendly outlook.  Until the two new members are confirmed and the NLRB begins issuing decisions altering the labor law landscape created by President Obama’s NLRB, employers...