Bryan M. O'Keefe

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In August, the NLRB issued perhaps its most important decision of 2011  in Specialty Healthcare, 357 NLRB No. 83 (2011).   Perhaps the most critical part of any union election is the bargaining unit determination–that is the group of workers who will vote on whether or not to join the union.  To draw an analogy…

Yesterday, the House Education & Workforce Committee jumped into the fray over NLRB recess appointments.  Some brief background: in December, President Obama appointed three new members to the NLRB.   Given the acrimony over the NLRB for the last year, it was unlikely that the Senate would have confirmed the President’s nominees, so a “recess” appointment…

The Bureau of Labor Statistics released its 2011 work stoppage statistics today.   On the whole, 19 major strikes or lockouts occurred in 2011.   These work stoppages impacted 113,000 workers and counted for just over a million lost workhours.

The numbers are interesting from a historical perspective.  On the one hand, the figures represent a dramatic…

Many employers prefer to arbitrate employment disputes rather than have these disputes end up in the traditional courtroom with a jury.   As a result, a fair number of employers require their employees sign arbitration agreements for employment litigation, including class action claims.

The validity of these class action waivers was called into question by the…

As followers of labor law know, the National Labor Relations Board has issued a rule requiring nearly all private sector employers to post a notice about labor unions.   The posting was originally supposed to go into effect last fall, but, after some legal wrangling, the NLRB decided to delay implementation until April 30, 2012.   The…

In litigation, the “American Rule” applies …. unless Congress states otherwise.   Unless the NLRB states otherwise.

That is the lesson employers can take away from a recent Board case, Camelot Terrace. The facts of the case are pretty dry — the employer arguably engaged in bad-faith bargaining.   One remedy in this situation is that the…

The New York Times has a very interesting story on lockouts and their increased use by employers. The story paints a dreary picture for employees — according to the story, employees are facing foreclosure and can’t pay for new clothes for their kids, while companies are out hiring replacement workers and humming along, business as…