The NLRB General Counsel’s office has apparently begun the “restructuring” announced earlier by GC Peter Robb. A July 30th memo announced the creation of committees within the various NLRB Regions that will be responsible for drafting pre-election decisions. The memo also outlines other attempts at streamlining decision-making processes. Download a copy of the memo here. It appears the NLRB may take rules regarding employer email restriction policies away from the current Purple Communications ruling and back to the standard of Register Guard, allowing for neutral restrictions in the use of non-work emails. The board is accepting public input until September 5th.
Geoff MacLeay
Gov. Phil Murphy
Under the new law, workers can file for unemployment insurance in labor disputes when an employer violates the terms of an employment contract or collective bargaining agreement. And striking workers would be eligible after a 30-day waiting period if the dispute isn’t prompted by an employer’s failure to comply with contract terms.
The California Supreme Court defied the federal Fair Labor Standards Act by ruling that employers must pay employees for insignificant off-the-clock tasks. The ruling was the result of a six-year legal battle between Starbucks and an employee over the 4 to 10 minutes per day it took him to close the store after clocking out. The fight will now move to the 9th Circuit appeals court. The California Court of Appeals, on the other hand, held that certain union activity could be enjoined by local courts without conflicting with the National Labor Relations Act. In this case a retail employer asked for a temporary and permanent injunction against union protesters when they disrupted a store during business hours. The court found that the union violated state trespassing laws.
