Articles Posted in NLRB Decisions

Federal law protects workers’ rights to organize themselves and engage in collective bargaining with their employers. The National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) prohibits employers from interfering with these rights. It also authorizes the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to investigate alleged violations, rule on complaints, and award remedies like back pay and reinstatement to employees. The NLRB recently issued a ruling in an ongoing New Jersey employment dispute. The employer had raised objections to various details of an order awarding back pay to several former employees. The NLRB’s ruling generally goes in the employees’ favor.

Section 8(a) of the NLRA prohibits “unfair labor practices” by employers, such as interfering with protected activities described in § 7 or discriminating against employees on the basis of their involvement in protected activities. The NLRB has the authority under § 10 “​​to prevent any person from engaging in any unfair labor practice…affecting commerce.” It may serve complaints on employers based on charges received from workers, and conduct proceedings to determine whether an employer has violated the NLRA. Remedies may include reinstatement of any employee who was not dismissed for cause, along with back pay.

The case that was recently before the NLRB began with charges filed by several employees of a New Jersey nursing center in 2011 and 2012. The employees, who are licensed practical nurses (LPNs), alleged that the employer retaliated against them for their union-related activities by eliminating LPN positions and replacing them with other nurses. In 2016, the NLRB ruled that the employer’s actions violated § 8(a). It ordered the employer to offer reinstatement to the employees and awarded them back pay. The Third Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the order in 2018.
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The right of workers to organize and bargain collectively with employers has led to many important reforms in workplace safety and working conditions. Congress enacted the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) in the 1930s to protect these rights. The law created the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to adjudicate complaints about interference with organizing activities and other unlawful acts. In 2020, the NLRB ruled in favor of three former employees of a New Jersey bakery production plant who alleged that their employer wrongfully terminated them because of their union activities, along with other alleged NLRA violations. After an appellate court affirmed the ruling, the NLRB pursued an enforcement action against the employer. This resulted in an award of $2.3 million in damages for the three employees. If you have questions or concerns about organizing or collective bargaining in the workplace, reach out to a New Jersey employment lawyer as soon as possible.

The NLRA protects workers’ rights to organize themselves, either by joining an existing labor union or forming a new one, and to engage in collective bargaining and other “concerted activities” related to organizing or protection. Section 8 of the statute prohibits a variety of actions by both employers and unions. Employers may not interfere with employees’ protected activities, nor may they discriminate or retaliate on the basis of union activities. Once employees have chosen representatives to bargain collectively on their behalf, the employer may not refuse to engage with them.

The three complainants in the NLRB action worked at a plant in Fair Lawn, New Jersey as floor helpers and icing mixers. The plant produces cookies and crackers for a major brand. The complainants had been involved with the union for multiple years. The union, according to the decision from the administrative law judge (ALJ), has been the exclusive representative for plant workers since 1958.
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The National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) protects workers’ rights to engage in activities related to organizing and collective bargaining. The statute prohibits employers from interfering with employees who are exercising their rights, or from coercing them against such activities. New Jersey employment laws provide some protections for labor organizing, but much of the work happens at the federal level. The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has the authority to investigate and adjudicate alleged NLRA violations. In April 2022, the General Counsel (GC) of the NLRB issued a memo calling on the NLRB to challenge meetings held by employers to address labor organizing activities, which employees are required to attend. The GC’s position would require the NLRB to reverse a seven-decade-old precedent allowing these types of meetings.

Employees have the right to “self-organization,” to join a union or form their own, and to select representatives to engage in collective bargaining with their employers. They also have the right to refrain from engaging in these types of activities. Employers may not “interfere with, restrain, or coerce employees” with regard to any of these rights. They may not discriminate against employees based on participation in protected activities, nor may they retaliate against workers who engage in acts protected by the NLRA.

In 1948, the NLRB issued a decision regarding an employer that required employees to attend a meeting, held during work hours, at which several managers gave speeches discouraging union organizing or membership. A Trial Examiner had held that the “compulsory” nature of the meeting violated the NLRA’s ban on coercion by employers. The NLRB disagreed. It held that the employer’s actions were not unlawful under the NLRA based on the “totality of the circumstances.” This decision has functioned as a precedent for seventy-four years in cases challenging mandatory employee meetings in which employers address organizing activities.

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Labor unions have helped workers achieve significant improvements in pay and working conditions in New Jersey and across the county by enabling them to bargain collectively with their employers. Instead of each individual employee negotiating with their employer, employees can pool their resources and present a united front. Union membership has fallen over the past few decades for a variety of reasons, but this might be changing. As people return to the workforce after the economic slowdown caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, workers are asserting their rights to fair pay, safe work environments, and more. Employees of a major online retailer on Staten Island, for example, voted to unionize in early April 2022. While their employer is contesting the vote, the impact is already spreading to other workplaces, including many workers in New Jersey who have said they plan on holding votes to unionize. If you feel you have been subjected to unlawful practices in the workplace in violation of state or federal law, please contact a New Jersey employment lawyer today.

Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) protects workers’ rights to engage in activities related to union organizing and collective bargaining. It also protects the rights of workers who do not want to join a union to refrain from these types of activities. Section 8(a) of the statute states that employers may not interfere with union organizing activities. In § 8(b), the statute prohibits unions from “restrain[ing] or coerc[ing]” employees with regard to organizing or membership. Section 9 establishes procedures for employees to vote on forming a union or joining an existing union, and for a union to become the employees’ official representative.

Collective bargaining agreements (CBAs) that require employers to hire union members, known as “closed shop” agreements, are invalid under the NLRA. Some states, known as “right-to-work” states, also prohibit “union shop” agreements, which require employees to join the union once they have been hired. At least twenty-eight states have some form of right-to-work laws as of early 2022. New Jersey is not among them. A CBA between a union and an employer in New Jersey may require union membership. This type of CBA addresses the “free rider” problem, in which employees who are not union members still benefit from the union’s work.
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The National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) protects employees’ right to organize for the purpose of collective bargaining with their employers. They may do this by forming their own union, or by joining an existing union. Employers may not interfere with employees’ organizing activities. The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) is responsible for enforcing the law. One part of the agency investigates complaints from workers about alleged violations. Another adjudicates those complaints. Region 22 of the NLRB, based in Newark, New Jersey, filed a complaint against a hospital in late 2021 for alleged NLRA violations. The NLRB’s description of the complaint outlines several examples of conduct prohibited by the statute. If efforts to organize at your workplace for the purposes of collective bargaining are being interfered with, reach out to a New Jersey employment attorney to learn more about your rights.

Section 7 of the NLRA states that employees may engage in activities related to organizing and collective bargaining, as well as “concerted activities for the purpose of…mutual aid or protection”. Employees also have the right to refrain from these activities. Section 8(a) of the statute prohibits various acts by employers, including:
– “[I]nterfer[ing] with…or coerc[ing] employees” with regard to their rights under § 7;
– Interfering with the creation or operation of a labor union;
– Attempting to discourage or encourage union membership among employees, with some exceptions;
– Firing an employee or retaliating against them in other ways for filing a complaint or cooperating with an NLRB proceeding; or
– Refusing to engage in collective bargaining with the employees’ authorized representative.

The NLRB may conduct a hearing to adjudicate a complaint alleging violations of § 8. If it finds that an employer has engaged in unlawful activity, it can award damages to an employee such as back pay. It can also order the employer to reinstate the employee and expunge their records of any unlawful disciplinary actions.
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Since taking office in January of this year, the new presidential administration has made numerous changes to federal regulations intended to help New Jersey employees and others throughout the country. This includes adjustments by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to its interpretation of federal labor law. The NLRB’s general counsel (GC), who is responsible for investigating alleged unfair labor cases and pursuing actions against employers, issued two memoranda in August 2021 outlining changes in procedures and priorities. One memorandum announces that the GC will be reviewing cases in which the NLRB overturned its own precedents in recent years. This could signal a new direction for the NLRB, which seems to have taken a pro-employer stance in many recent decisions. The second memorandum sets new enforcement priorities for the GC’s office.

Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act protects employees’ right to organize themselves for the purpose of collective bargaining. This could include joining an existing union or forming a new one. The statute also protects workers who engage in “other concerted activities” related to organizing “or other mutual aid or protection.” Under § 8(a) of the statute, employers may not interfere with employees who are exercising any of these rights, nor may they discriminate or retaliate against employees who engage in protected or concerted activities.

Courts and the NLRB have interpreted “concerted activities” rather broadly at various times since the NLRA’s enactment in 1935. A 2019 decision by the NLRB, however, overruled an earlier decision that took an expansive view of “concerted activities.” The board stated at the time that it sought to overrule cases “that erroneously shield[] individual action” as opposed to concerted activities. In Memorandum GC 21-04, issued on August 12, 2021, the GC includes the 2019 decision and several others in a list of NLRB decisions addressing the definition of “concerted activity.” This is one of numerous areas of labor law where the GC intends to review the NLRB’s recent decisions.
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The economy is slowly recovering from the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic in New Jersey and all around the country. Millions of people lost their jobs in the early months of the pandemic in 2020. Congress allocated money to help employers keep paying their employees even if they were not open for business. At the same time, many employees voiced concerns about workplace safety, such as the availability of personal protective equipment (PPE) to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus. The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has tended to side with employers over workers seeking better protections against COVID. In June 2021, however, the NLRB ruled in favor of a former barista who alleged that her employer fired her in retaliation for advocating for workplace safety and other issues. Since the ruling was a default judgment, it is not clear to what extent it will affect other similar cases.

The NLRB adjudicates disputes under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). Section 7 of this statute protects workers’ rights to organize, form or join a labor union, and engage in other “concerted activities” related to self-organization or “mutual aid.” Section 8(a) identifies “unfair labor practices” by employers. It states that an employer may not “interfere with, restrain, or coerce employees” who are exercising rights protected under § 7. An employer also may not retaliate against an employee, such as by firing them, for asserting their legal rights.

The employer in the recent NLRB ruling operates several coffee shops. The COVID-19 pandemic forced it to close in early 2020, but it was able to reopen by late spring of that year. During that time period, several employees, including the head barista at one location, began corresponding on social media regarding concerns about their workplace. According to the NLRB’s ruling, their concerns involved “communication, wages, recall rights, and worker safety.” They began to circulate a petition through social media in May 2020.
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Under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), employers may not interfere with or restrain New Jersey employee activities or those occurring elsewhere in the country that involve self-organizing for the purpose of engaging in collective bargaining. Employees may join an existing labor union or form one of their own without retaliation from their employers. In order for the NLRA’s protections to apply, a worker must be an “employee” within the statute’s meaning. In 2016, National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) ruled that student employees at private colleges and universities in New Jersey and around the country are “employees” under the NLRA. A proposed rule first published in 2019 would have changed the definition to exclude student workers. The NLRB withdrew the proposed rule in March 2021, so the 2016 ruling remains in effect.

Section 2(3) of the NLRA, codified at 29 U.S.C. § 152(3), offers a rather circular definition of “employee.” It does not state what an employee is. Instead, it provides that an individual is not excluded from being an “employee” for various reasons, such as if they lost their job due to an “unfair labor practice” or “current labor dispute.” An NLRB regulation adopted in 1970, 29 C.F.R. § 103.1, states that the NLRB may assert jurisdiction over claims involving private colleges and universities with at least $1 million in gross annual revenue.

The NLRB has ruled several times since 1970 on the question of whether students who work for the colleges and universities they attend should be considered “employees” under the NLRA. For thirty years, it excluded student workers from the definition of “employee,” but in 2000 it ruled that graduate student assistants should be included. It reversed its own decision in 2004, finding that graduate student assistants were students before they were employees. In 2016, it not only reversed its 2004 decision, but also expanded the definition to include both graduate and undergraduate student assistants.
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Labor organizing has helped workers in New Jersey and around the country achieve better pay and improved working conditions for over a century. The National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) of 1935 protects workers’ right to engage in activities related to organizing and collective bargaining. The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) is charged with certifying labor unions and adjudicating disputes under the NLRA. A decision issued in March 2021 by the NLRB could be of note for those involved in New Jersey employment law matters. The board decided to retain the “contract bar rule,” which limits the time for filing any petition that challenges a union’s status while a collective bargaining agreement (CBA) is in force.

Section 7 of the NLRA protects the rights of workers to “self-organization” and other labor organizing activities. Section 9(a) states that, once a majority of employees in a particular “unit,” have selected representatives for collective bargaining, they are the “exclusive representatives” for the employees in that unit. A union can lose its status as representative through a decertification petition filed with the NLRB. If at least thirty percent of the employees in a unit sign on to a petition to decertify the union, § 9(e) directs the NLRB to conduct a secret-ballot election of all employees to see if they favor decertification.

The contract-bar rule states that a petition to decertify a union cannot be filed during the first three years of a CBA, with two exceptions. First, a petition can be filed at any time if the CBA has a “union security clause” that “clearly” violates § 8(a)(3) of the NLRA. A CBA cannot require all of the employees in a unit to pay union dues unless it gives each employee a thirty-day grace period after their employment begins. A CBA that does not include the thirty-day period could be found invalid.
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Workers are often best able to negotiate with their employers for better pay, safer or improved working conditions, and other features of employment when they can do so as a group. Many employers prefer, however, that their employees not do this. Federal and New Jersey labor laws protect workers’ right to organize for various purposes, including advocacy on co-workers’ behalf. The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) investigates and adjudicates alleged violations of workers’ rights under federal law. A recent investigation by the NLRB found that a major online retailer violated the rights of two workers who advocated for better working conditions during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. While it is not a formal decision by the Board, it could offer guidance to workers advocating for change at employers in New Jersey and around the country. If you have concerns regarding wage or labor practices at your place of employment, consider reaching out to a New Jersey employment lawyer to discuss your situation.

Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), found at 29 U.S.C. § 157, guarantees the right of employees to “self-organization.” They can join an existing labor union or form their own. They can use collective bargaining procedures in negotiations with their employers. Finally, they can “engage in other concerted activities” related to “collective bargaining or other mutual aid or protection.” The term “concerted activities” can cover a broad range of acts.

Under § 8(a)(1) of the NLRA, id. at § 158(a)(1), an employer commits an “unfair labor practice” if they restrain or interfere with any activities that are protected by § 7. Section 8(a)(3) bars employers from discriminating against employees because of “membership in any labor organization.” New Jersey has even more extensive protections for employee organizing. See, e.g. N.J. Rev. Stat. § 34:13A-5.3, 34:13B-2.
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