The Labor Law Insider – Details, episodes & analysis

Husch Blackwell’s Tracy Wolf and Rufino Gaytán continue their engaging discussion with Labor Law Insider host Tom Godar regarding changes being initiated at the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) under the Trump administration. The conversation explores questions about the viability of mandates under the NRLB’s recent Cemex and Stericycle decisions. The discussion also tackles the impact of a more management-friendly NLRB on unions that are filing charges or seeking certification elections. 

The insiders also anticipate the practical, day-to-day changes in policies and practices that employers may consider given recent developments. For instance, should employers communicate differently with their employees under this new regulatory regime, and should handbooks and policies be revised? Jump into Part II of this fascinating discussion regarding the ever-changing world of labor law.

The firing of National Labor Relations Board General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo—and the rescission of many of the policies initiated under the Biden administration—is just the start of the new administration’s overhaul of labor policy. Labor Law Insider host Tom Godar welcomes Husch Blackwell’s Rufino Gaytán and Tracy Wolf for this fascinating discussion that takes stock of where we are now and, more significantly, what the next few months will bring as the Trump administration takes full hold of the NLRB machinery.

The insiders discuss not only the expected pro-management changes to come, but the unexpected appointment of a union-friendly Department of Labor secretary and pro-union comments by the president regarding the longshoremen who threatened a strike in January. Please join us for this entertaining discussion of what we know about real or potential changes in policy, including how the administration will likely approach the National Labor Relations Act. The insiders offer predictions for what might happen and when. Part II of this podcast will assess how these changes will impact policies and processes of employers in every sector and industry.

Labor Law Insiders Trecia Moore, Megann McManus, and Terry Potter continue their discussion with Labor Law Insider host Tom Godar regarding remedies the National Labor Relations Board is trying to impose for unfair labor practices. The Fifth Circuit overturned the Board’s Thryv decision and described the Board proposed remedies as “Draconian” and containing a “novel, consequential-damages-like labor law remedy” not generally available under the National Labor Relations Act. The Insiders also consider the aggressive remedies imposed by the Board in the Cemex case, mandating union recognition and issuing a bargaining order upon an employer whose unfair labor practice occurred in the course of a union campaign.  Listen to the practical discussion reviewing these developments and some takeaways that can help companies manage regulatory risk.

Labor Law Insider host Tom Godar engages in a lively discussion with guests Trecia Moore, Megann McManus, and Terry Potter regarding remedies in matters involving unfair labor practice charges. The centerpiece of our discussion is Thryv, Inc. v. National Labor Relations Board, a recent case in which the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals took up questions relating to a National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) order that sought to challenge and reverse a company’s unilateral layoffs during a bargaining impasse. The employer, a Yellow Pages advertising vendor, had properly and legally implemented its Last Best Final Offer (LBFO) protocols and instituted its workforce reduction per the LBFO, but the union charged it with unfair labor practices before the NLRB anyway. What ensued next was unusual, even for the Biden administration’s NLRB. The Board overruled its own administrative law judge (ALJ) when the ALJ returned only a partial victory in the Board’s in-house venue and slapped Thryv with what the circuit court later called “a novel, consequential-damages-like labor law remedy.”

We explore what made the Board’s order noteworthy, why the circuit court ultimately dismantled most of it, and the likely future for so-called make-whole remedies.

Labor Law Insider host Tom Godar continues his engaging conversation with Insiders Mary-Ann Czak and Terry Potter as they assess the challenges employers face from numerous recent policy reversals offered by the National Labor Relations Board. Mary-Ann and Terry work through real-life scenarios in light of these changes, which now force employers to rethink how they approach drafting policies and monitoring and disciplining employees for workplace and online behaviors. In part two of this fascinating exchange, the Insiders offer suggestions on how to engage and train frontline supervisors and how to approach employee communications and decision-making in light of the expanded definition of protected and concerted activities. Join us for continuation of this lively discussion.

Labor Law Insider host Tom Godar challenges his guests, Mary-Ann Czak and Terry Potter, with real-life scenarios gathered from client interactions over the past several months. These scenarios help highlight the fundamental shifts that have taken place under the Biden administration’s National Labor Relations Board, forcing employers to change their disciplinary analysis in so many different circumstances. In the first installment of this two-part podcast, Mary-Ann and Terry respond to questions related to confidentiality, recording at the workplace, nuances when making decisions in the healthcare setting, and much more. Join us for this content-rich and practical conversation and stay tuned for part two where this exchange continues with practical tips on how to proceed.

In part two of the discussion regarding the successful unionization of the Dartmouth University men’s basketball team, our labor law insiders Tyler Paetkau and Jason Montgomery, along with host Tom Godar, offer analysis and predictions for the next round of play for more athlete power.   Who will be the winner in this battle over the spoils of the trillion-dollar industry that is college athletics? It is a full-court press to explore union power, name, image, and likeness (NIL) revenue, state-level regulation of public universities and its impact on the NCAA and the various athletic conferences. Join us for this animated chalk talk.

Legendary basketball player Magic Johnson said, “The only thing that matters is the score.”

Well, the score is 13 to 2, considering the votes for a union representing the Dartmouth College men’s basketball team. For college basketball hounds, it’s tournament time, but for the NCAA, it is a strange turn of events. Dartmouth, an Ivy League bench warmer in men’s basketball, has not played an NCAA Tournament game since 1959; however, it is now a leader in organized labor, choosing to become represented by the Service Employees International Union, since the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) found that the institution exercises control and provides compensation—in the form of shoes—but not athletic scholarships. In its decision, the NLRB cited the players’ estimate that team members receive equipment valued at over $44,000 per year.

Husch Blackwell partners Tyler Paetkau and Jason Montgomery join Labor Law Insider host Tom Godar to explore this development, as organized labor continues to apply a full-court press to institutions of higher education.

This episode of the Labor Law Insider concludes our discussion on the changes wrought by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) in 2023 and their implications for employers in 2024 and beyond. Adam Doerr and Rufino Gaytán join host Tom Godar to offer their thoughts on NLRB decisions that prohibit the inclusion of confidentiality provisions in release agreements.  They also provide insight into how employers must contend with a new risk calculus to implement their policies and actions regarding employee relations. 

The discussion also explores the significant increase in strikes and whether regular use of that provocative tactic is likely to continue. The Insiders also analyze how successful union organizing has expanded in 2023 and whether these trends reflect the greater popularity of unions in the broader public context. 

The episode concludes with a focus on proactive leadership by employers to limit their employees’ desire to unionize at all and to communicate effectively with unions that already represent their employees. Join the Labor Law Insiders for this stimulating podcast. 

Labor Law Insider veterans Adam Doerr and Rufino Gaytán join host Tom Godar to discuss the impact of the National Labor Relations Board’s 2023 decisions. How does the Cemex decision, encouraging union representation without elections, fit in with the many other changes wrought by the NLRB in the past year? The discussion focuses on the much-narrowed pathway for employers to negotiate in 2024 regarding policies, discipline, and responding to union organizing. 

Join these experienced labor counsel as they offer thoughtful perspective of organized labor’s new power, and how they are flexing their muscle with both strikes and union organizing with new and union-friendly rules. This is Part One of a two-part series. Part Two will include further insights and opportunities to mitigate the impact of some of these decisions. Join us on this episode of the Labor Law Insider.