Articles and Blogs

We know the major personnel issues challenging our friends in the health care industry: labor shortages; competitive wages; and rising costs. But what employment and labor legal issues do (or may) health care organizations face in coming months? Accommodation Requests as Remote Work Demands Continue. Throughout the last two-plus years, telework became the new... READ MORE

It turns out that the mail-in voting debate extends beyond the 2020 presidential election. In particular, and as you may recall based on our previous post, union elections around the nation have been ripe for controversy in the mail-in voting discussion during the COVID-19 pandemic. The National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB” or the “Board”)... READ MORE

In the past few weeks, the National Labor Relations Board (“Board”) has issued several crucial decisions impacting union elections in the health care setting. At the close of April 2020, the Board declined to find that COVID-19 justified the stay of a union election at an acute care hospital. In its Order denying the... READ MORE

On February 26, 2020, the National Labor Relations Board issued its final rule establishing the standard for determining whether two employers are joint employers under the Act (“New Rule”). History of Joint Employer Standard As explained by the NLRB, a joint employer finding has significant implications for rights and obligations under the NLRA relative... READ MORE

We previously wrote about the “quickie” election rules here. On December 13, 2019, the NLRB released new election rules that significantly dialed back several previous amendments. Under the quickie election rules, or “Old Rules,” the median number of days from petition to election had decreased by a total of approximately 15 days.[1] Union Election... READ MORE

On May 14, the National Labor Relation’s Board (“Board”) Advice Division released an advice memorandum recommending that the Board reconsider three picketing cases decided during President Obama’s administration. The memo provides insight regarding how the General Counsel’s Office, and the Board, may interpret picketing activity in the near future. This advice could affect health... READ MORE

As we noted in the prior article that we recently posted, there were two different franchisor/franchisee rulings issued this summer in the context of joint employment relationships. Recall that joint employment is an employment law theory that involves an employee who works for two separate companies—the joint employers—where both companies have the ability to control... READ MORE

For years, we have reported on the multitude of decisions from the Board striking down employer handbook rules. Many of these decisions were based on a standard set forth in the Lutheran Heritage case, which provided, in part, that a rule or policy maintained by an employer is unlawful if “employees would reasonably construe... READ MORE

In a 5 to 4 opinion split down ideological lines, the Supreme Court ruled that class and collective action waivers contained in employment arbitration agreements do not violate the National Labor Relations Act (“NLRA”) and must be enforced. This is music to the ears of all employers, especially those that have been the target... READ MORE

The National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) recently had the opportunity to return to the subject of employer policies restricting nurses and other employees from wearing pro-union insignia in the workplace. The Rules The NLRB decision focused on two policies, which were challenged by their employees. The first policy, dealing with appropriate dress and grooming, applied to... READ MORE