The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), the quasi-judicial body responsible for interpreting and enforcing the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), ended 2019 by issuing several important rulings that reverse policies set during the Obama Administration that the Republican-controlled majority on the Board believed improperly skewed the balance of employee and employer interests in favor of employees.
Among the major issues addressed by the Board were the settlement of long-running joint employer litigation, the right of an employer to restrict personal use of employer-provided email, the standard for deferring to arbitration, and the confidentiality of employer investigations.
The rulings came in conjunction with the departure from the NLRB of its lone remaining Democratic member Lauren McFerran, who dissented in every case, and whose term expired on December 16, 2019. With her departure, the NLRB is currently composed of three Republicans appointed by President Trump, with two vacancies.
Members of the Center for Workplace Compliance (CWC) can read more here.