Posts tagged Jennifer Abruzzo
Acting NLRB Counsel Rolls Back Many Biden-Era Labor Memos and Begins Process of Changing U.S. Labor Laws: What Employers Need to Know
February 18, 2025 // Overall, GC Cowen’s memo impacted 31 prior GC memos issued between 2021 and 2025 (yes, some of these were hurriedly issued in January prior to the presidential inauguration). Some of the most impactful memos that are no longer in effect include: Contending that most non-competition agreements violate federal labor law Prohibiting “stay or pay” provisions Characterizing student-athletes as employees
President Donald Trump appointed a new leader at the National Labor Relations Board
February 3, 2025 // William B. Cowen will serve as the acting general counsel of the NRLB, the agency said. Trump fired President Joe Biden’s NLRB general counsel, Jennifer Abruzzo, last week. Abruzzo was widely viewed as one of the most union-friendly people to serve in the role.
Trump fires EEOC and labor board officials, setting up legal fight
January 29, 2025 // Due to existing vacancies, Wilcox's ouster leaves the board with just two members, short of the quorum it needs to adjudicate even routine cases. (The board, when fully staffed, has five members.) With this move, Trump has effectively shut down the NLRB's operations, leaving the workers it defends on their own, AFL-CIO president Liz Shuler said in a statement.
The value of union strikes under Trump
January 29, 2025 // Like the UAW strikes, media coverage celebrated the strikes, but the impact appears nonexistent. The Starbucks rolling strike lasted a handful of days and only affected 300 stores and 5,000 employees — a miniscule percentage of Starbucks’ 10,000-plus stores and almost 200,000 workers. The Amazon strike impacted less than 10 of Amazon’s more than 100 locations, and workers generally continued working.
Trump fires US labor board member, hobbling agency amid legal battles
January 28, 2025 // As a board member, Wilcox voted to bar employers from holding mandatory anti-union meetings, to create a new path for unions to represent workers outside of the decades-old election process, and to make it easier to require companies to bargain with contract and franchise workers. Abruzzo in a statement said the board's efforts to empower workers in recent years would have a lasting impact. "So, if the Agency does not fully effectuate its congressional mandate in the future as we did during my tenure, I expect that workers with assistance from their advocates will take matters into their own hands," she said.
THE TRUMP EFFECT: DARTMOUTH HOOPERS WON’T BE UNIONIZING!
January 3, 2025 // The fight to deem athletes employees isn’t over yet. The Johnson v. NCAA case over athlete employment status is still pending in the federal court system, and a growing chorus of coaches and players (including those involved in the House v. NCAA settlement) have begun to call for collective bargaining. The NCAA and power conferences will continue their multimillion-dollar lobbying push in Congress to pass a law deeming athletes amateurs for good. Their chances of succeeding will be higher with a Republican majority in both houses and Sen. Ted Cruz (R., Texas) as head of the Senate Commerce Committee—though not guaranteed. Labor unions could also mount a lobbying push against the NCAA.
Legal Update: Three Major NLRB Updates Pose New Challenges for Employers
December 9, 2024 // Employers must remain diligent in staying abreast of these recent shifts in labor law and policy, especially on the cusp of an administration change. While GC Abruzzo’s term appears likely to end early in 2025, and the Board majority could flip in 2025 or 2026, the new Republican administration’s position on labor policy remains unclear, especially in light of the recent nomination of a pro-labor nominee to lead the Department of Labor.
Amazon and Elon Musk’s SpaceX challenge labor agency’s constitutionality in federal court
November 20, 2024 // Attorneys for Amazon and Elon Musk’s SpaceX argued in a federal appeals court Monday that the National Labor Relations Board’s structure is unconstitutional, advancing a legal fight that may last into the Trump administration where Musk is expected to oversee bureaucratic cost-cutting. A panel of three judges at the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans heard separate oral arguments in the SpaceX and Amazon lawsuits, which the two companies initiated after the labor agency filed complaints against them in disputes about workers’ rights and union organizing.
How Will the U.S. Election Outcome Affect Labor Law? A Deep Dive into the NLRB’s Future
November 19, 2024 // The NLRB’s policy agenda is almost certain to shift. The new General Counsel will likely take a different approach to several key labor issues that the current NLRB has made a priority. For example, current General Counsel Abruzzo pursued aggressive enforcement actions against restrictive covenants, like non-compete and nonsolicitation agreements, following her May 2023 memo where she articulated her view that restrictive covenants like non-competes “generally violate federal labor law.” The new General Counsel will almost certainly halt enforcement of this position and several others when the new administration takes control.
How AI Is Impacting Labor Relations—and Why Employers Need to Pay Attention
October 25, 2024 // One key takeaway from the DOL guidelines is the importance of worker involvement. In unionized workplaces, rolling out AI without worker input is risky. Unions are already pushing back, trying to ensure that AI doesn’t replace jobs or erode working conditions. Employers should expect collective bargaining proposals that set clear parameters around AI usage, from performance monitoring to task automation. Industries like entertainment are leading the charge, with unions such as SAG-AFTRA and the WGA negotiating limits on AI-generated scripts and digital replicas. At ports, the International Longshoremen’s Association is resisting fully automated systems. These are clear signs that AI’s impact on labor is at the top of many unions’ minds.