NLRB General Counsel Sets Policy Road Map

Recently confirmed National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo released a memo signaling a shift in board policy moving forward. As General Counsel, Abruzzo is in charge of setting the agency’s litigation and enforcement agenda and priorities, lending her significant sway in shaping the interpretation and application of the National Labor Relations Act and the nation’s labor policies.

The memorandum instructs board staff to submit cases involving over 20 different issues to her office for review. This issues cover:

Employer handbook rules, including policies relating to confidentiality during workplace investigations, and workplace civility

The parameters of protected concerted activity

Union organizing via employer email systems

Union access to employer property

Independent contractor status, as well as employee misclassification as an unfair labor practice

“Board jurisdiction over religious institutions”

Board deferral to arbitration

Employer remittance of employees’ union dues payments following the expiration of collective bargaining agreements

Reducing union financial transparency with regard to compulsory dues paid by union nonmembers

Employer withdrawal of union recognition

Expansion of Weingarten rights (allowing unionized employees to be accompanied by union representatives to employer investigatory meetings that may result in discipline) to nonunion settings and other types of meetings or discussions

Abruzzo stated that, “this memo should be seen as a road map for ways in which the Agency will better effectuate its mission and congressional mandate, including protecting the right to engage in concerted activities for mutual aid or protection and encouraging collective bargaining.” The NLRB is set to gain a Democratic majority following the expiration of Republican member William Emanuel’s term on August 27, 2021.

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