Labor

  • May 08, 2025

    5th Circ. Wipes Out Southwest Attys' Religious Training Order

    The Fifth Circuit on Thursday held that a lower court overstepped by ordering several in-house Southwest Airlines attorneys to undergo "religious liberty training" following a flight attendant's win in a wrongful termination suit, finding that the training wouldn't benefit the flight attendant or persuade Southwest to comply with an earlier order.

  • May 08, 2025

    Kroger-Owned Chain Fights Counterclaims In Strike Row

    If a United Food and Commercial Workers local wants to accuse King Soopers of violating a post-strike agreement, the union must take its argument to the National Labor Relations Board, the Kroger-owned grocery chain told a Colorado federal judge Thursday, asking her to throw the allegation out of federal court.

  • May 08, 2025

    Full DC Circ. Restores International Media Funding, For Now

    The en banc D.C. Circuit on Wednesday restored federal grant funding to international broadcasters while the Trump administration appeals a lower court ruling blocking cuts to the agency that oversees Voice of America.

  • May 08, 2025

    6th Circ. Eyes Reviving Kellogg, FedEx Mortality Table Suits

    The Sixth Circuit on Thursday appeared open to reviving suits against Kellogg and FedEx from married pensioners who alleged their employers' outdated actuarial assumptions shortchanged their joint-and-survivor benefits, with multiple judges seeming to doubt a lower court's assertion that employers had unfettered latitude when choosing what data to use.

  • May 08, 2025

    NLRB Captive Meeting Ban Affected Union Vote, Nexstar Says

    Nexstar Media Group Inc. challenged the certification of a union representing NewsNation workers, claiming the National Labor Relations Board's ban on what are known as captive audience meetings violated the company's First Amendment rights and unfairly influenced the vote's outcome.

  • May 08, 2025

    Mass. Heating, Plumbing Co. Must Bargain, NLRB Judge Says

    A Massachusetts heating and plumbing company's response to an organizing drive violated federal labor law, a National Labor Relations Board judge ruled, saying the company illegally fired five workers for union activity, told union supporters to quit, and promised workers better job assignments if they opposed the union.

  • May 07, 2025

    Southwest Says Union Deal Makes Sick Leave Suit Irrelevant

    Southwest Airlines said Tuesday that a suit challenging its sick leave settlement with Colorado is moot because a recent collective bargaining agreement between the airline and its workers in the state already applies a 2020 law.

  • May 07, 2025

    NY Legal Aid Union Accused Of Antisemitism At NLRB, EEOC

    A United Auto Workers affiliate representing attorneys at a New York legal services organization violated federal laws when the union thwarted antisemitism measures in the workplace, a nonprofit alleged Wednesday in announcing charges it filed at the National Labor Relations Board and U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

  • May 07, 2025

    NLRB Official Says Settlement Bars Union Ouster At Glass Co.

    A National Labor Relations Board official has tossed a worker's petition to decertify a union representing workers at a Minnesota glass company, saying a settlement between the company and union in a separate case prevents the election from going forward.

  • May 07, 2025

    NLRB Judge Says Amazon Lawfully Fired Union Backer In NY

    Amazon did not violate federal labor law by firing a union supporter and unilaterally changing certain policies about cellphone use and COVID-19 tests at a New York warehouse, a National Labor Relations Board judge ruled while finding the company illegally denied union representation during investigatory interviews.

  • May 07, 2025

    USW Knocked By Judge For Causing Member's Demotion

    The United Steelworkers violated federal labor law by resolving a member's grievance in a manner that caused another member to be demoted, a National Labor Relations Board judge ruled, ordering the union to pursue another grievance on behalf of the demoted member.

  • May 06, 2025

    NFLPA Says Ex-Player Has Wrong Target In Rehab Abuse Suit

    A former pro football player who claimed that he was incorrectly sent to a Texas drug treatment center that later abused and physically blocked him from leaving, should not blame the NFL Players Association for his being there, the union told a Texas federal court.

  • May 06, 2025

    Split 5th Circ. Nixes Amazon's Appeal To Halt NLRB Case

    A divided Fifth Circuit panel found Tuesday that a Texas federal judge did not "effectively deny" Amazon's bid to halt a refusal-to-bargain case at the National Labor Relations Board based on allegations that the agency is unconstitutional, tossing the e-commerce giant's appeal for lack of jurisdiction.

  • May 06, 2025

    DOD Says It Has Standing To Halt Labor Contracts

    The U.S. Department of Defense asked a court not to end its lawsuit over President Donald Trump's move to end collective bargaining with its workers, saying it cannot manage its workforce "without facing substantial legal uncertainty."

  • May 06, 2025

    Army Base Teachers' Unions Sue Trump Over Executive Order

    Unions representing schoolteachers on military bases have sued President Donald Trump, the U.S. Department of Defense and the U.S. Office of Personnel Management over a March executive order aimed at stripping them of their bargaining rights, asking a Washington, D.C., federal judge to invalidate the directive.

  • May 06, 2025

    Technician's Bias Suit Against Union, Studios Tossed For Now

    A New York federal judge Tuesday tossed an electrical technician's suit accusing an entertainment industry union local of employing admissions and job referral practices that discriminate against Black and Latino applicants seeking work at major production studios.

  • May 06, 2025

    Bakery Driver Agrees To Drop Teamsters Benefits Fight

    A delivery driver and a Philadelphia Teamsters local will drop their dispute over whether the driver was wrongfully denied early retirement benefits, the parties announced Monday.

  • May 06, 2025

    Costco Can't Bar Harassment Probe Talk, NLRB Judge Says

    Costco unlawfully maintained overly broad rules in an investigations form and barred a North Carolina worker from talking about the outcome of her internal sexual harassment complaint, a National Labor Relations Board judge ruled, finding a clause allowing employment terms discussions did not shield the company from violating federal labor law.

  • May 06, 2025

    NLRB Gets OK To Gather Mediation Board's Take On SpaceX

    The Fifth Circuit gave the National Labor Relations Board the go-ahead to ask the federal labor agency that oversees union negotiations in the air transportation industry whether SpaceX falls under its purview in a step that could spell the end of the NLRB's cases against the rocket maker.

  • May 05, 2025

    4th Circ. Seems Split On Fight Over DOGE's Data Access

    The Fourth Circuit on Monday seemed poised for another split on letting the government share citizens' personally identifiable information with Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency, with a line of questioning that parroted their earlier division over pausing the trial court's injunction blocking DOGE from accessing that data.

  • May 05, 2025

    Judge Backs Biden-Era Protections For H-2A Farmworkers

    A North Carolina federal judge tossed a challenge to a Biden-era regulation that enhanced the organizing rights of seasonal farmworkers with H-2A visas, saying Monday that the U.S. Department of Labor didn't act arbitrarily and capriciously when it issued the regulation.

  • May 05, 2025

    SEIU Takes NLRB Joint Employer Rule Fight To DC Circ.

    The Service Employees International Union asked the D.C. Circuit to examine the National Labor Relations Board's 2020 joint employer rule, renewing its fight against the employer-friendly board regulation that limited the criteria for finding shared liability.

  • May 05, 2025

    Groups Urge DC Circ. To Halt Noncitizen Registration Rule

    Immigrants rights groups called on the D.C. Circuit to pause the Trump administration's interim final rule requiring all noncitizens to register with the federal government or face criminal prosecution, after a lower court declined to issue a preliminary injunction.

  • May 05, 2025

    Chemical Co. Fights Teamsters' Bid To Toss Suit Over Strike

    An Illinois chemical company is fighting to preserve allegations that a Teamsters local violated federal labor law through aggressive behavior during a strike the company claims was illegal, telling an Illinois federal judge that its amended complaint is strong enough to beat the union's dismissal motion.

  • May 05, 2025

    Justices Reject Review Of NLRB's COVID-19 Bonus Pay Order

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday denied review of a shuttered New Jersey nursing home's challenge to the Third Circuit's enforcement of a National Labor Relations Board decision that found the employer unlawfully slashed or ended COVID-19 bonuses for unionized workers.

Expert Analysis

  • Trump's 1st 100 Days Show That Employers Must Stay Nimble

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    Despite the aggressive pace of the Trump administration, employers must stay abreast of developments, including changes in equal employment opportunity law, while balancing state law considerations where employment regulations are at odds with the evolving federal laws, says Susan Sholinsky at Epstein Becker.

  • Water Cooler Talk: Classification Lessons From 'Love Is Blind'

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    The National Labor Relations Board's recent complaint alleging that cast members of the Netflix reality series "Love Is Blind" were misclassified as nonemployee participants and deprived of protections under the National Labor Relations Act offers insight for employers about how to structure independent contractor relationships, say Tracey Diamond and Emily Schifter at Troutman Pepper.

  • Independent Contractor Rule Up In The Air Under New DOL

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    In several recent court challenges, the U.S. Department of Labor has indicated its intent to revoke the 2024 independent contractor rule, sending a clear signal that it will not defend the Biden-era rule on the merits in anticipation of further rulemaking, say attorneys at Jackson Lewis.

  • Tracking FTC Labor Task Force's Focus On Worker Protection

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    The Federal Trade Commission recently directed its bureaus to form a joint labor task force, shifting the agency's focus toward protecting consumers in their role as workers, but case selection and resource allocation will ultimately reveal how significant labor markets will be in the FTC's agenda, say attorneys at Venable.

  • GC Nominee Likely Has Employer-Friendly NLRB Priorities

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    President Donald Trump’s nomination of Crystal Carey as general counsel of the National Labor Relations Board indicates the administration's intent to revive precedents favorable to employers, including expansion of permissible employer speech and reinstatement of procedural steps needed for employees to achieve unionization, say attorneys at Vorys.

  • A Close Look At The Rescinded Biden-Era NLRB Memos

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    National Labor Relations Board acting general counsel William Cowen's recent decision to rescind several guidance memoranda from his predecessor signals that he aims to move the board away from expanding organizing rights and to provide more room for employers to protect their operations and workforce, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.

  • 6 Criteria Can Help Assess Executive Branch Actions

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    With new executive policy changes announced seemingly every day, several questions can help courts, policymakers and businesses determine whether such actions are proper, effective and in keeping with our democratic norms, say Marc Levin and Khalil Cumberbatch at the Council on Criminal Justice.

  • 5 Key Issues For Multinational Cos. Mulling Return To Office

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    As companies increasingly revisit return-to-office mandates, multinational employers may face challenges in enforcing uniform RTO practices globally, but several key considerations and practical solutions can help avoid roadblocks, say attorneys at Baker McKenzie.

  • 7 Things Employers Should Expect From Trump's OSHA Pick

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    If President Donald Trump's nominee to lead the Occupational Safety and Health Administration is confirmed, workplace safety veteran David Keeling may focus on compliance and assistance, rather than enforcement, when it comes to improving worker safety, say attorneys at Fisher Phillips.

  • Water Cooler Talk: Takeaways From 'It Ends With Us' Suits

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    Troutman’s Tracey Diamond and Emily Schifter discuss how the lawsuits filed by “It Ends With Us” stars Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni hold major lessons about workplace harassment, retaliation and employee digital media use.

  • Issues To Watch At ABA's Antitrust Spring Meeting

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    Attorneys at Freshfields consider the future of antitrust law and competition enforcement amid agency leadership changes and other emerging developments likely to dominate discussion at the American Bar Association's Antitrust Spring Meeting this week.

  • NLRB Firing May Need Justices' Input On Removal Power

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    President Donald Trump's unprecedented removal of National Labor Relations Board member Gwynne Wilcox spurred a lawsuit that is sure to be closely watched, as it may cause the U.S. Supreme Court to reexamine a 1935 precedent that has limited the president's removal powers, say attorneys at Kelley Drye.

  • Weathering Policy Zig-Zags In Gov't Contracting Under Trump

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    To succeed amid the massive shift in federal contracting policies heralded by President Donald Trump's return to office, contractors should be prepared for increased costs and enhanced False Claims Act enforcement, and to act swiftly to avail themselves of contractual remedies, says Jacob Scott at Smith Currie.