As reported on the Hunton Employment & Labor Perspectives blog, the NLRB’s Office of the General Counsel (“the General Counsel”) recently issued an internal directive regarding the manner in which NLRB Regions prosecute duty of fair representation charges against unions. Under the National Labor Relations Act, unions have a duty of fair representation to the members of the bargaining unit it represents by engaging in conduct that is not arbitrary, discriminatory or in bad faith, particularly with regard to the processing of worker grievances.
Continue Reading NLRB General Counsel Elevates Standard for Unions’ Duty of Fair Representation

San Francisco is the latest jurisdiction to pass a law that prohibits employers from inquiring about prior salary history during hiring. New York City, Boston, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and New Orleans already have similar laws, and in a concerning trend for employers, 26 states are currently considering such legislation.

The San Francisco city ordinance went into effect on July 1, 2017, and restricts employers from (1) considering an applicant’s salary history in determining whether to make an offer of employment or the amount of salary to offer; (2) inquiring about salary history; (3) retaliating against an applicant that declines to provide salary history; and (4) releasing a current or former employee’s salary history to a prospective employer without written authorization. Notably, the restrictions in the San Francisco ordinance, like similar laws in New York City and New Orleans, prohibit an employer from conducting a search of publicly available records to obtain salary history information.Continue Reading San Francisco Bans Employers From Asking Job Applicants About Salary History, 26 States Considering Similar Legislation

On June 7, 2017, the Department of Labor announced that it is withdrawing two administrative interpretations issued by the Department of Labor under the Obama administration in 2015 and 2016 relating to misclassification of independent contractors and joint employment.
Continue Reading DOL Announces Rollback of Policies on Joint Employment and Employee Classification

Jimmy John’s has settled with the Attorney General’s office after an investigation of the legality concerning the use of a non-compete clause barring departing employees from taking a job with any employer within two miles of a Jimmy John’s store that made more than 10 percent of its revenue.
Continue Reading Jimmy John’s Will Stop Using Non-Compete Agreements in New York