By Nelson Cary and Cory Catignani on Posted in Department of LaborYou may recall from our previous post that the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals set April 17, 2017, as the due date for the government’s brief in its appeal of the nationwide injunction of the so-called “persuader rule.” The government asked for and received another extension of its highly anticipated brief until May 17, 2017.… Continue Reading
By Nelson Cary and Cory Catignani on Posted in Courts,Department of LaborThe Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals has set the briefing schedule in the government’s appeal of the nationwide injunction of the persuader rule. The government’s brief is due April 17, 2017. Response briefs are due 30 days later. Reply briefs must be filed 14 days after the response brief. The briefing schedule may finally tell us… Continue Reading
By Nelson Cary on Posted in CourtsEarlier this week, as I’m sure everyone has now heard, President Trump announced his pick for the U.S. Supreme Court. For those of you who missed it, President Trump nominated Neil Gorsuch, a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit. Curious about his decisions in cases involving the NLRB, I set… Continue Reading
By Nelson Cary on Posted in NLRB,RulemakingWith the dust still settling from our national election this week, I’ve been digesting what it means for the NLRB. So, here are some initial thoughts. Two of the five NLRB positions are vacant now. But, the details on the appointment process are messy. The NLRB members President Obama selected have staggered terms that will… Continue Reading
By Nelson Cary on Posted in CourtsSo, by now, I’m sure everyone has heard that President Obama announced his pick for the U.S. Supreme Court last week. In case you missed that, he selected Chief Judge Merrick Garland, from the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals. As a result, many have been writing about how Judge Garland has ruled in any given… Continue Reading
By Nelson Cary and George Stevens on Posted in Courts,NLRBLast week, a federal appeals court dismissed a petition for interim injunctive relief, but the problem wasn’t the petition—or even the facts supporting it. The problem was the Acting General Counsel of the NLRB who authorized the petition in the first place. A petition for interim injunctive relief essentially requests that a court make the… Continue Reading
By Nelson Cary on Posted in Rulemaking,Union OrganizingAs forecast two weeks ago on this blog, President Obama yesterday vetoed the Congressional Review Act resolution that would have prevented the NLRB from proceeding with the implementation of its ambush/quickie election rules adopted earlier this year. In his “memorandum of disapproval,” the President referred to the rules as “common-sense, modest” changes. He also noted that employees… Continue Reading
By Nelson Cary on Posted in NLRBEarlier this week, the U.S. Senate confirmed Lauren McGarity McFerran (D) to take the place of Member Schiffer (D), whose term expires next week. As readers of this blog will recall, the move came after President Obama withdrew the controversial nomination of Sharon Block (D), who became caught up in the unconstitutional appointment issue the Supreme… Continue Reading
By Nelson Cary on Posted in NLRBIn an interesting move Wednesday, President Obama notified the U.S. Senate that he was withdrawing the nomination of Sharon Block to the NLRB. In her place, the President nominated Lauren McGarity McFerran. Ms. Block’s nomination cleared the Senate’s Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee on an essentially party-line vote earlier this year. The nomination of… Continue Reading
By Nelson Cary on Posted in NLRBPresident Obama announced his intention today to nominate three individuals to the NLRB. The President’s action comes at a time when the authority of the NLRB to act in cases and rulemaking activities is on appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court and when only one of the sitting NLRB members has been confirmed by the U.S. Senate. The… Continue Reading
By Nelson Cary on Posted in UnionsIn case you were wondering what unions thought about the Noel Canning decision, which held that President Obama’s recess appointments to the NLRB were unlawful, your wait is now over. Earlier this week, at its Executive Council meeting, the AFL-CIO let its views be known. In a statement adopted by the Council, the AFL-CIO decried… Continue Reading
By Nelson Cary on Posted in NLRBLess than three weeks after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia declared their recess appointments invalid, President Obama has again nominated Richard Griffin (D) and Sharon Block (D) to serve on the NLRB. In the names he sent to the Senate last week, however, President Obama did not include any Republicans for two… Continue Reading
By Nelson Cary on Posted in NLRBOne of the developments I suggested labor professionals keep an eye on after the election was the validity of President Obama’s appointments to the NLRB at the beginning of 2012. As summarized in the prior post, two of the four current NLRB members received "recess appointments" that are now at issue. Today, the federal Court of Appeals… Continue Reading
By Nelson Cary on Posted in NLRBThe polls are closed, the votes are counted, and the results are in: President Obama will remain in office for another four years. This much, of course, is old news. But what the days since the election have provided is time to think about what it means for employers interested in labor law issues. Here… Continue Reading
By Nelson Cary on Posted in NLRBBy Nelson Cary and Micah Dawson In College Football Bowl week terminology, some would say President Obama ran an “end-around” play on the Senate yesterday. Using his recess appointment power, he filled the three vacancies on the National Labor Relations Board, despite the Senate’s refusal to act on those appointments. President Obama appointed his two… Continue Reading
By Nelson Cary on Posted in NLRBEarlier this week, President Obama nominated two Democrats, Sharon Block and Richard Griffin, to serve as members of the NLRB. Ms. Block currently works at the U.S. Department of Labor, an agency which has attracted attention over its controversial proposal to modify the rules governing "persuaders" in labor organizing campaigns. Mr. Griffin serves as General Counsel for… Continue Reading
By Nelson Cary on Posted in SERBThe headline on our last post certainly seems apt now. A battle truly has erupted — and not just here in Ohio — over the issue of public sector employee collective bargaining rights. Wisconsin also confronts the issue; coverage of that dispute is easy enough to come by, but here is a recent example. Michigan, however,… Continue Reading
By Nelson Cary on Posted in NLRBLast year, President Obama nominated Craig Becker to the NLRB. Mr. Becker’s nomination, however, bogged down in the U.S. Senate over his controversial views on the NLRA. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce even took the step of opposing Mr. Becker’s nomination, a position it had not taken since the early 1990’s. Ultimately, Mr. Becker’s nomination… Continue Reading
By Nelson Cary on Posted in NLRBThe NLRB has functioned with only four members and without a General Counsel for a number of months. Yesterday, President Obama announced his nominations for those key remaining vacanices at the NLRB. For General Counsel, the President nominated Lafe Solomon. Readers of this blog know Mr. Solomon as the NLRB’s current Acting General Counsel, and the… Continue Reading
By Nelson Cary on Posted in Union OrganizingUnder current law, employers confronted with union organizing drives face an important question: whether to take steps to oppose that effort. Under the Obama Administration, employers holding federal contracts also face an additional question: how will they pay for their efforts to prevent employees from organizing a union? Federal contractors are allowed to claim certain… Continue Reading
