On February 21, 2023, the now Democratically-controlled National Labor Relations Board ruled in McLaren Macomb that the use of confidentiality and non-disparagement clauses in severance agreements violates the federal National Labor Relations Act (“NLRA”) because they restrict workers from engaging in “protected activity.” The Board ruled that the confidentiality clause at issue in McLaren Macomb… Read More
Posts Tagged With: NLRB
U.S. Supreme Court Agrees to Determine Legality of Class Action Waivers in Employee Arbitration Agreements
Yesterday, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to decide whether class action waivers in employee arbitration agreements violate federal law. This is a huge development, with potentially far-reaching implications for many California employers. But, first, a little background (okay, actually it’s a lot of background, but it’s important) — Advantages of Arbitration Many employers require their… Read More
NLRB Rules College Football Players on Scholarship are Employees and Can Form Unions
Earlier today, the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) Regional Office 13 issued a groundbreaking decision in Northwestern University v. College Athletes Players Association (Case No. 13-RC-121359) which could fundamentally alter the relationship of college football players to their schools and to the N.C.A.A. The NLRB’s Regional Office ruled that: (1) College football players on scholarships at… Read More
NLRB Gives Up — No More Notice Posting Rule
According to its Office of Public Affairs, the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) has decided not to seek Supreme Court review of two U.S. Court of Appeals decisions invalidating the NLRB’s Notice Posting Rule, which would have required most private sector employers to post a notice of employee rights in the workplace. This decision by the… Read More
NLRB Chairman Equates Posting on Social Media with Conversing around a Water Cooler
Many employers attempt to control what their employee can (and cannot) say in social media posts about the employer. But, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has ruled in a series of cases that blanket restrictions on employee speech on social media are illegal. The NLRB’s position is that employees have the legal right to… Read More
NLRB Rules Proprietary Information and Non-Disparagement Clauses in Non-Union Employment Agreement are Overbroad and Illegal
The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has issued another decision striking down a private, non-union employment agreement. The Quicken Loans, Inc. Decision In this most recent case, Quicken Loans, Inc. (Case No. 28-CA-75857), the administrative law judge ruled that Quicken violated the National Labor Relations Act (the “Act”) by maintaining “overly broad and discriminatory rules”… Read More
NLRB Clarifies its Position on Employers’ Social Media Policies
On August 18, 2011, in response to a growing number of disputes between employers and employees concerning employees’ use of Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and other social media, the NLRB clarified its rules for determining (1) when employees are engaging in protected activity, and (2) when employers are using illegal social media policies. These latest clarifications… Read More