The Employment Law Counselor

Ever since the 2020 presidential election last November, we have forecasted what a President Biden-appointed National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) and General Counsel would mean for our employer clients. For example, the NLRB stated in an August opinion that it was willing to “explore new make-whole remedies.” In near lock step with the NLRB, General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo recently revealed her playbook in the form of General Counsel Memorandum 21-06, which spells trouble for employers who are charged with unfair labor practices by an employee or a union.Continue Reading

The United States Supreme Court recently reshaped the relationship between universities and the athletes who play college sports in National Collegiate Athletic Association v. Alston et al. In the Alston case, the Court upheld a trial court injunction against NCAA rules that limit the education-related benefits schools may offer student athletes. Notably, the Court did not consider the lower court’s rulings that upheld NCAA limits on noneducational benefits and compensation that student athletes may receive. Regardless, in a unanimous opinion, the Court noted deep skepticism about the “amateur label” of college sports as argued by the NCAA and ruled that the NCAA’s rules restricting education-related benefits violate federal antitrust laws. In a concurring opinion, Justice Kavanaugh specifically noted that the argument “that colleges may decline to pay student athletes because the defining feature of college sports … is that the student athletes are not paid … is circular and unpersuasive.”Continue Reading