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Matt Lonergan is a partner in the Labor & Employment, Litigation and International & Cross Border practice groups. He has represented companies throughout the country in the areas of union organizing, collective bargaining negotiations, grievance and arbitration, employment discrimination litigation in both federal and state courts, the National Labor Relations Act, wrongful discharge, wage and hour law, and other employment-related areas. Matt is also a member of the Nashville, Tennessee (Labor Law Section), Texas and American (Labor and Employment Law Section) Bar Associations, and a Fellow of the Nashville Bar Association.

The top lawyer for the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) is ordering her subordinates to continue to seek injunctions against employers for alleged violations of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), despite the Supreme Court seemingly making it more difficult to obtain an injunction to enjoin an unfair labor practice.

Section 10(j) of the NLRA

In an 8-1 decision authored by Justice Clarence Thomas, the United States Supreme Court settled the conflict among circuits in setting the standard for issuing 10(j) injunctions sought in unfair labor practice proceedings. In Starbucks v. M. Kathleen McKinney, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of Starbucks who was seeking to overturn a temporary

Employment attorneys and employers are well aware that noncompete and nonsolicitation agreements have been under continued scrutiny by states across the country. While the laws vary from state to state, generally, restrictive covenant agreements have become more difficult for employers to enforce when an employee violates their agreements and “thumbs their nose” at threatened enforcement.

Mississippi recently passed House Bill 1509 (the “act”) codifying employees’ right to choose whether to be vaccinated against COVID-19, which some commentators believe would limit employers’ ability to impose mandatory vaccine requirements. But private employers with vaccine mandates can breathe easy. The act does not create a basis for a wrongful termination claim against a

Union efforts to organize workers are on the rise. Most notably, several high-profile employers are at the forefront of recent union campaigns, including Amazon, Starbucks and now Apple.

Amazon

Employees at Amazon’s Staten Island, New York warehouse voted in favor of union representation two weeks ago: 2,654 for and 2,131 against representation.  Now, the union

ZOOM, ZOOM, ZOOM!! Will Virtual Platforms Replace How You Interact with Your Employees, Unions, and Lawyers?Roughly 15 months ago the word “Zoom” would have conjured up images of cartoon race cars or maybe Dr. Seuss’ Go Dog Go book. Such images not only show our age but reflect how much our world has changed since the COVID-19 pandemic arrived.

In the legal world, Zoom allowed the practice of law to

Put ‘Em All Back in There: Federal Court Injunction Halts an Alleged Runaway ShopAlthough most employers don’t want a union in their workplace, the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) is clear: You cannot interfere with union organizing efforts. A federal district court in Kentucky recently followed this rule and ordered a company to reopen a shuttered facility and rehire the workers affected by the closure. In NLRB v.

Six FLSA Resolutions for the New YearWith the minimum guaranteed salary requirement for the most common Fair Labor Standards Act exemptions being raised from $23,660 to $35,568, effective January 1, 2020, under a final rule issued by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), now seems like an opportune time to review some of the FLSA requirements so often unintentionally tripped over