Labor

Expert Analysis

• Water Cooler Talk: Trade Secret Lessons From 'Severance'

  

  In light of the recently enacted Protecting American Intellectual Property Act, attorneys at Troutman Pepper chat with Tangibly CEO Tim Londergan about trade secret protection as it relates to the show “Severance,” which involves employees whose minds are surgically divided between their home and work lives.

• 4 Ways Nonunion Employers Can Make Workers Feel Heard

  

  With employees less likely to join the recent surge of unionizations if management proactively responds to their concerns, companies should cultivate positive relationships with their workers now, lest employees feel they must organize to amplify their voices, say Stacey McClurkin Macklin and Grant Mulkey at Stinson.

• Independent Contractor Laws Are Ignoring Economy's Evolution

  

  Over the last year, federal and state approaches to independent contractor classification have demonstrated an inability to adjust to changes in the economy — save for a 12-factor test proposed in New York City, which would have balanced gig economy prosperity and worker protections, say attorneys at Greenberg Traurig.

• Key Employer Questions On Ill. Workers' Rights Amendment

  

  With the Illinois' Workers' Rights Amendment recently voted into the state constitution despite challenges in and out of court, employers struggling to understand if the ban on right-to-work statutes applies to the private sector should follow litigation on the amendment for help interpreting its scope and applicability, say attorneys at Neal Gerber.

• What To Know About NLRB's Expanded Labor Remedies

  

  The National Labor Relations Board’s recent Thryv decision, which added "foreseeable pecuniary harms" to employee remedies for unfair labor practices, should prompt employers to recalibrate risk assessments involved in making significant employment decisions, says Manolis Boulukos at Ice Miller.

• Top 10 Employer Resolutions For 2023

  

  A recent wave of pivotal judicial, legislative and executive actions has placed an even greater responsibility on employers to reevaluate existing protocols, examine fundamental aspects of culture and employee relations, and update policies and guidelines to ensure continued compliance with the law, say Allegra Lawrence-Hardy and Bria Stephens at Lawrence & Bundy.

• NLRB Takes Antiquated Approach To Bargaining Unit Test

  

  The National Labor Relations Board's recent decision in American Steel Construction rewrites history and tries to demonstrate that the interests of the employees included in a union's proposed petitioned-for unit are superior to the interests of the employees excluded, ignoring the reality of modern organizing, say Patrick Scully and Iris Lozano at Sherman & Howard.

• Nonstatutory Labor Antitrust Exemption Risk In Sports Unions

  

  Given the increased focus on union organizing across all industries, sports leagues and other multiemployer groups should be mindful of the unresolved breadth of the nonstatutory labor exemption — which can allow individuals to bring antitrust claims during the bargaining period — as they navigate a rapidly changing legal landscape, say attorneys at Latham.

• To Avoid A Rail Strike, Congress Tread A Well-Worn Path

  

  While the congressional legislation President Joe Biden signed this week to avoid a national rail shutdown may seem extraordinary, interventions of this sort have been used a dozen times since the passage of the Railway Labor Act in 1926, making them far from unprecedented, says Charles Shewmake at Holland & Knight.

• IRS Starts Clock On Energy Projects' Labor Rule Exemption

  

  A U.S. Department of the Treasury notice published this week started the 60-day clock for clean energy projects seeking to be grandfathered from having to meet new labor requirements to qualify for enhanced tax credits, and uncertainty about how the provisions will apply should be incentive for some investors to begin construction soon, say attorneys at Eversheds Sutherland.

• Top 10 Labor And Employment Issues In M&A Transactions

  

  In order to ensure that M&A transactions come to fruition in the current uncertain environment, companies should keep several labor and employment issues in mind during the due diligence process to minimize risk, says Cassidy Mara at Akerman.

• Does NLRA Preempt Suits Against Unions For Strike Damage?

  

  The U.S. Supreme Court is taking up Glacier v. Teamsters Local 174, whose central issue is whether the National Labor Relations Act preempts state lawsuits brought against unions for causing property damage while conducting strikes, which will affect the balance of power between unions and employers during labor disputes, say Michael Warner and Jenny Lee at Franczek.

• How Employers Can Prevent And Remedy Antisemitism

  

  The Brooklyn Nets' recent suspension of Kyrie Irving for espousing antisemitism is a reminder that employers must not tolerate discrimination in the workplace, and should should take steps to stop and abate the effects of the antisemitism, says Amy Epstein Gluck at FisherBroyles.