NLRB rulings face appellate court review

A number of the National Labor Relations Board’s (NLRB) precedent-breaking decisions—all favoring union/worker rights—will soon face judicial review, often before skeptical benches. The outcome of these cases will have a significant impact on the practical effect of the Board’s rulings.

Maclaren McComb

Few NLRB rulings have caused more opposition from employers than the decision in McLaren Macomb, which held that employers infringe on workers’ labor rights when they offer severance agreements that include expansive nondisparagement and confidentiality language.

The agreements at issue are similar to those routinely used throughout the country. This decision affects all employers, regardless of union status, because it’s based on Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), not on any particular union-related activity.

The decision is on appeal before the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals, and even though a negative ruling won’t have national effect, it will influence how the Board’s ruling is regarded elsewhere.

Lion Elastomers

Lion Elastomers is an equally controversial decision by the Board that overturned a 2020 ruling in General Motors, which had brought Board-made law into general agreement with Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 regarding the use of racist, misogynistic, and homophobic language in the workplace.