On the recent uproar involving a major, major employer and its recently-terminated employee:

No. 1. Is it a good idea to provide an "open forum" to employees if there are certain topics that are off limits? No. If you want to provide a forum for employees to speak up, but only "within reason," then it's a good idea to establish and communicate your limits in advance. That way, if ...

Bloomberg BNA reported last night that Philip Miscimarra, Chairman of the National Labor Relations Board and a voice of reason, will be leaving when his term expires on December 16 of this year.

Chairman Miscimarra said that he had been asked to stay for another term but decided not to because he had three kids going to college. Reading between the lines (not very difficult in this ...

The U.S. Senate yesterday confirmed Marvin Kaplan's appointment to the National Labor Relations Board, which means that there is now an equal number of Republicans and Democrats on the Board.

William Emanuel, a management-side attorney from Littler Mendelsohn, is the last Trump nominee to the Board. His confirmation vote will not take place until after the Senate's August ...

Supreme Court agrees to review "travel ban" cases and partially stays injunctions on the ban pending a final decision. The Trump Administration won a partial victory this week when the U.S. Supreme Court decided that portions of the preliminary injunctions against the "travel ban" issued in March should be stayed. What that means is that the travel ban is now in effect for foreign ...

And may it die quickly. The U.S. Department of Labor has taken formal regulatory action to rescind the Obama Administration's "Persuader Rule." The DOL has been enjoined from enforcing the rule since November 2016, but the latest action will presumably end it for good. Let's hope. David Phippen of our Washington DC Metro Office has the details in this Client Bulletin.

Mayor de Blasio ...

You want my salary history? That's sex discrimination! Well, actually, it's a little more complicated. Kacy Coble of our Memphis Office has a great post over at FOCUS, our women's leadership blog, about the perfectly legitimate, non-discriminatory reasons why employers sometimes use salary history in setting pay -- and how alternatives may be even more unfair. As state and ...

Yesterday, the Trump Administration released its proposed budget for Fiscal Year 2018, which runs from October 1, 2017, through September 30, 2018. Here are the highlights related to labor and employment law, and there are a BUNCH. The following is a compilation of a number of articles published in yesterday's edition of Bloomberg BNA's Daily Labor ...

The May edition of ConstangyTV's Close-Up on Workplace Law has just been released. Host Leigh Tyson -- who is now co-chair of our Labor Relations Practice Group in addition to being a YouTube star --  interviews Mel Haas, veteran labor lawyer and head of our Macon Office, about what employers can do to create a satisfied workforce. You will not want to miss this ...

Did you know that May is Mental Health Awareness Month? (Neither did I, but I do now.) Our beloved blogger Mallory Schneider Ricci is back at FOCUS, our women's leadership blog, with a post about mental health issues that affect women -- and men -- in the legal profession, and what they can do to take care of themselves.

The March-April Executive Labor Summary is out! David Phippen

According to Politico's "Morning Shift," President Trump on Friday night promoted Philip Miscimarra from Acting Chairman to plain old Chairman of the National Labor Relations Board. Congratulations, Chairman!

As of this morning, the NLRB website is still listing him as Acting Chairman.

There are still two vacant seats on the five-member Board, which the ...