Now more than ever, pay and promotion issues are tremendously important to employers. Fair pay and equal work opportunities to all employees, regardless of gender, race, national origin or any other protected characteristic, is a top priority of the new administration. Signing the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, which extended the statute of limitations for filing alleged discriminatory pay and promotion claims, was President Obama’s first legislative act as President. Recent events in Congress, including the introduction of additional legislation aimed at ensuring equal pay and advancement opportunities, paired with aggressive regulatory initiatives, are strong signals that the question is not “if” pay and promotion discrimination claims will rise, but when and how high. Our attorneys are fully prepared to help employers maneuver through the special challenges these cases present.
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National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) Nominee Craig Becker needed 60 Senate votes to overcome the Republican-led filibuster blocking his confirmation, but he only received 52 votes on Tuesday. Two Democrats, Sen. Blanche Lincoln (Ark.) and Ben Nelson (Neb.), went against their party to vote him down in the cloture vote, which failed 52-33.
Continue Reading...On Tuesday, February 4th, the United States Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (“HELP”) Committee called a rare hearing to question Craig Becker, President Barack Obama’s nominee for the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”). While Becker was approved by the HELP Committee last year in a 15-8 vote, Arizona Senator John McCain (R.) placed a hold on his nomination, keeping a Senate vote from taking place. Therefore, the White House resubmitted his nomination and the Committee voted on Becker again yesterday, before a confirmation vote in the full Senate.
Continue Reading...On December 24, 2009, the National Labor Relations Board ("NLRB") issued a revised version of its Case Handling Manual (Part One). For those inside the NLRB, the Manual provides guidance on various internal policies and procedures for enforcement proceedings. For those outside the NLRB, the Manual not only states how the agency is likely to deal with issues that arise during such proceedings, but also provides insight into the agency’s enforcement priorities. Part One (the part recently revised) covers unfair labor practice (“ULP”) charges, but also includes sections that apply to representation elections and compliance proceedings as well.
Continue Reading...On December 24, Craig Becker’s nomination to the NLRB ran into a significant obstacle when the Senate returned the nomination to the White House for reconsideration.
Becker, who works for the Service Employees International Union, was nominated by the President earlier this year to fill one of the two vacant Democratic seats on the NLRB. There has been significant controversy surrounding his nomination due to what critics describe as his extreme, some say radical, pro-union views concerning possible changes to the nation’s labor laws. The nominations of Democrat Mark Pierce and Republican Robert Hayes were both held over by the Senate for consideration during the next term, indicating that both are likely to be confirmed.
Continue Reading...Fairly or not, America’s commercial banks have been vilified by many as the cause of the nation’s financial meltdown. The CEOs of America’s most venerable financial institutions have been called to Washington and excoriated by an angry Congress, and on talk shows across the nation their salaries have been contrasted with those of hourly-paid financial workers. The new administration has called for tighter regulation of the financial sector and even appointed a “pay czar” to review the compensation structures of banks that have received bailout funds. While most of the attention over the banking crisis is focused on whether, and to what extent, the industry is in need of reform, far less attention has been placed on the veritable “perfect storm” the current political and economic climate has created for unions eager to make inroads into an industry that has been largely untouched by big labor.
Continue Reading...Last week, Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis announced the Department of Labor's planned launch of an ambitious new public awareness campaign called "We Can Help." The campaign, set to debut in early 2010, is designed to help inform workers about their rights under federal wage and hour laws.
Continue Reading...In one of the largest back pay awards in the agency's history, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) concluded a settlement with five Michigan beer distributors that required the companies to pay $41 million in back pay to employees and the Teamsters. Findings from an ALJ, supported by the NLRB and the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals, concluded that the five companies colluded to systematically oust the union by separately engaging in bad faith bargaining, unlawfully declaring impasse, and then implementing their respective labor contracts with substantially lower wages and benefits.
Continue Reading...The Supreme Court agreed on November 2, 2009 to decide whether decisions of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) are valid if they were reached by only two members when other NLRB seats were vacant. In New Process Steel, LP v. NLRB, the Seventh Circuit concluded that the NLRB’s two-member decision in that case was appropriate and binding. The Supreme Court is expected to hold oral argument early next year and decide the case in June 2010.
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