National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) Regional Director has set April 25 as the date for the union vote for Northwestern University’s scholarship football players. As readers of this blog will recall, that vote will determine whether the scholarship football players elect the College Athletes Players Association (CAPA) as their bargaining representative. It is still not
Further Reflections on Unions in College Football – Is “student athlete” a misnomer?
Is this the beginning of the end of college football as we know it? Some argue that the end already has begun, with the “big money” of television and the corresponding commercialization prevalent in the sport. Some argue that in today’s major college football and basketball, the phrase “student-athlete” is a misnomer.
Has the end begun? Perhaps, but as predicted below, look for a legislative initiative to be triggered.
Continue Reading Further Reflections on Unions in College Football – Is “student athlete” a misnomer?
NLRB Regional Director Finds that Scholarship Football Players at Northwestern are Employees, not “Primarily Students” and Orders Union Election
Readers of this blog will recall our post on January 30 of this year, found here, regarding the effort by certain Northwestern University football players to unionize scholarship players on the team. Many pundits (including this one) predicted that even this National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) would not find that the players were employees. Wrong (at least so far)!
Continue Reading NLRB Regional Director Finds that Scholarship Football Players at Northwestern are Employees, not “Primarily Students” and Orders Union Election
Delay in Supreme Court Review of D.R. Horton Continues to Cost Employers Enforcing Arbitration Agreements
Readers of our series of posts on D.R. Horton will recall our prediction that the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB or the Board) would continue its attacks on certain arbitration agreements. As predicted, the NLRB’s administrative law judges (ALJ) continue to strike down any arbitration agreements that waive class or collective action claims and allow arbitration of only individual claims. The ALJs consistently find that such agreements violate employees’ Section 7 rights to engage in protected concerted activity.
Continue Reading Delay in Supreme Court Review of D.R. Horton Continues to Cost Employers Enforcing Arbitration Agreements
VW Aftermath – Factors Still Favor Non-Union South
Much speculation abounds regarding why workers at the Volkswagen (VW) plant in Chattanooga rejected the United Auto Workers’ (UAW) in a recent vote. Factors appeared to be aligning in favor of the UAW, such as
- Statements of support for the union from VW representatives in Germany.
- Access to the plant for union organizers.
- Promise of a “works council” type approach to unionization.
Continue Reading VW Aftermath – Factors Still Favor Non-Union South
College Football and Labor Law? Let the Debate Begin
A group of football players at Northwestern University has teamed with the United Steelworkers Union and formed a labor union, the College Athletes Players Association (CAPA). What’s more, the players have filed a petition with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), at its regional office in Chicago, to have CAPA recognized as the players’ exclusive bargaining representative in negotiations with the players’ “employer.”
Continue Reading College Football and Labor Law? Let the Debate Begin
NLRB Continues to Strike Down Arbitration Agreements
Readers of a previous post will recall that in December 2013, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals rejected the view of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB or the Board) in the significant D.R. Horton ruling. There, the Fifth Circuit held that an arbitration agreement that requires employees to arbitrate all employment disputes but restricts the arbitration proceedings to individual arbitrations only (i.e., not allowing class or collective arbitrations) does not violate Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act.
Continue Reading NLRB Continues to Strike Down Arbitration Agreements
NLRB Loses Appeal in D.R. Horton: Arbitration Agreements Can Require Only Individual Arbitration, But …
In a split decision, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals has rejected the view of the National Labor Relations Board (the Board). According to the Court’s majority opinion, an arbitration agreement that requires employees to arbitrate all employment disputes but restricts the arbitration proceedings to individual arbitrations only (i.e., not allowing class or collective arbitrations) does not violate Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act. D. R. Horton v. National Labor Relations Board (December 3, 2013). The Board is considering an appeal.
Why is this important?
Continue Reading NLRB Loses Appeal in D.R. Horton: Arbitration Agreements Can Require Only Individual Arbitration, But …
Religious Accommodation Ruling Confirms Employment Law Trend Toward Candid Interactive Discussion
A federal circuit court’s recent ruling provides more evidence of a prevalent employment law trend that has developed in the last few decades. The trend? Candid interactive communication about an employee’s rights and an employer’s responsibilities.
Over the past few decades, attentive employers have seen courts favor those who communicate forthrightly concerns or issues and correspondingly disfavor those who do not. While there are anecdotal exceptions, we have seen this trend in the following:
Continue Reading Religious Accommodation Ruling Confirms Employment Law Trend Toward Candid Interactive Discussion
DOMA and the FMLA – What Should Employers Do “In the Meantime”?
The Supreme Court’s Defense of Marriage Act (“DOMA”) ruling will impact the “spouse” definition in the Family and Medical Leave Act (“FMLA”) (among other extensive impacts in the employment law and employment benefits industry). Employers can expect the Department of Labor to issue, relatively soon, some guidance on the definition of spouse in light of the DOMA ruling.
It is anticipated that the definition of spouse will look to the state of celebration – that is, the state where the same-sex union was performed, or what state issued the license, regardless of the state of residence of the couple. But, until the guidance is issued, what should an employer do “in the meantime?”
Continue Reading DOMA and the FMLA – What Should Employers Do “In the Meantime”?