This week President Obama announced that he would make recess appointments to fill vacancies on the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).  The move allows the White House to bypass the Senate confirmation process, which promised to be extremely contentious. 

The appointments will add two Democratic members to the

Most of us assume that if an employee swears at a manager or, he or she can be disciplined or even fired.  That assumption may be wrong, depending on the context in which the swearing occurs.  A federal judge recently held that the Federal Aviation Administration violated federal labor law when it removed a local union president from its premises

The Oregon Legislature was in session in 2009, and many labor and employment-related bills came up for consideration.  A complete list of the bills that passed and the bills that failed follows below (you may have to click "continue reading." 

Several passed and will become law effective January 1, 2010.  Several others didn’t get the support they needed to become law, but employers may want to take note as they may gain more traction in the next legislative session. 

Notable winners:  leave for military spouses, a ban on "captive audience" union meetings, and protections for stalking victims.  Notable losers:  several attempts to clarify an employer’s obligation to accommodate medical marijuana use. 

Up next:  a federal labor and employment legislation update.  Stay tuned!Continue Reading 2009 Oregon Legislative Update

What’s an employer to do when it is ordered to reinstate former employees, but those employees are not legally authorized to work in the United States?  Pay liquidated damages instead, according to the Ninth Circuit’s recent decision in NLRB v. C&C Roofing Supply Inc

In C&C, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) alleged that