Mearns was promoted to Regional Attorney for the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) for Region 10 in Atlanta in 2024. He now oversees all litigation for the Atlanta, Birmingham, Nashville, and Winston-Salem offices. Mearns has been with the NLRB since 2014, when he started as a field attorney responsible for investigating and litigating unfair labor practice cases.
The NLRB is an independent federal agency that enforces the National Labor Relations Act (“NLRA”), which protects the right to form unions, engage in union activities, or abstain from union activities. “An extension of this relates to protected concerted activities,” noted Mearns.
Mearns shared insights on how employers can avoid the chill of a negative interaction with the NLRB by reviewing the agency’s role in the workplace. A few key areas that employers should take note of are:
The right of employees to engage in protected concerted activities applies regardless of whether employees are in a unionized workplace. “The definition of what constitutes protected concerted activity is really broad,”...
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