Labor Law Safeguards for Worker Lawsuits Imperiled at NLRB

Workers could lose a federal labor law’s protections against employer retaliation for filing lawsuits or administrative claims if the National Labor Relations Board agrees with its general counsel in a pending case involving a California construction firm.

The NLRB general counsel’s office argued that the National Labor Relations Act’s safeguards for workers’ group actions for “mutual aid or protection” don’t cover litigating any non-NLRA claims. The GC’s office based its position on the U.S. Supreme Court’s “implicit holding” that group litigation isn’t protected in Epic Systems v. Lewis, a 2018 ruling that approved class-action waivers in employment arbitration agreements. ...