Traditionally, it has been taboo to discuss religion, politics, or divisive matters of public concern in the workplace. Most employers want the worksite to be about work and want to avoid controversial and potentially offensive discourse. However, in the current political climate, amid a global health pandemic, and the movement for social justice gaining unprecedented
National Labor Relations Board Reverses Another Obama-Era Labor Board Ruling and Reinstates Historical Deferral Doctrine
The National Labor Relations Board in recent weeks has continued to overturn Board decisions from President Obama’s administration. In United Parcel Service, Inc., the current Republican-controlled Board returned to a long-standing legal standard for “deferring” unfair labor practices to private arbitration.
The Issue
Often when workers are disciplined, whether in a union or nonunion setting,
The NLRA, Protected Activity, and the F-Bomb
When, if ever, is swearing at your supervisor or coworkers a federally protected activity? The National Labor Relations Board (Board) currently is reconsidering what constitutes protected activity under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). Specifically, the board is trying to clarify when workers can be protected from discipline for using profanity or engaging in harassing
But We Tried to Do It Right! Stand-Alone Misclassification of Independent Contractor May Not Be a Violation
Recently, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) issued another pro-employer decision, resolving an issue at the forefront of employment law, independent contractor classification. In Velox Express, Inc. and Jeannie Edge, the NLRB determined that misclassification of an employee as an independent contractor alone does not violate the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA).
Background
Velox
Never Too Late to Arbitrate? Tips on Getting Your Agreement On
Do your employees sign arbitration agreements? If so, do your arbitration agreements prevent employees from joining class actions against your company? Does your company want to start requiring arbitration agreements? If “yes” is the answer to any of these questions, some recent court decisions raise a few issues to keep in mind.
Let’s first take
New Waive? NLRB Allows Revised Arbitration Agreements After Collective Action
Last week, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) issued a decision in Cordúa Restaurants, Inc., that permits employers to create and enforce arbitration agreements with collective waivers in direct response to Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) collective actions filed by employees. The NLRB also found that warning employees of discharge for failure to agree
“No Flair! Is That Fair? Fifth Circuit Overturns Burger Joint’s Ban on Buttons”
Many of us remember the classic scene from “Office Space” where Jennifer Aniston’s waitress character was chastised for not having enough “flair”—whimsical buttons on her uniform. The Fifth Circuit recently addressed the exact opposite situation: In-N-Out Burger sought to enforce a policy which forbids employees from sporting any buttons on their uniforms. What types of
Happy Thanksgiving and the Many Things for Which We Are Thankful
Before everyone gets out of the office to their various homes and families to celebrate the holiday, we wanted to review the year and count our blessings. Not only are we thankful that our families and colleagues in our Houston and Tampa offices weathered the storms safely, we are also thankful for the following legal
Flipping Out Over Flipping Off: What Are the Limits on Regulating Employee Political Speech?
Around the end of October, a photo of a government contractor employee flipping the bird to President Trump’s motorcade went viral after the woman made it her profile picture on Facebook. She was subsequently fired for a violation of her company’s social media policy. The company said that the image was “lewd” and “obscene.” The
The NLRB/EEOC Landmine – When Does Offensive Speech Amount to Protected Activity?
Employers need to be on the lookout for instances of offensive employee speech, which may put them between a rock and a hard place as they navigate potential claims under either anti-discrimination laws or federal labor laws.
You have probably heard that Google terminated an employee earlier this month for saying (among other things) that