In 2023, Chief Counsel for the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), Jennifer Abruzzo, issued two memorandums addressing non-disparagement agreements, non-competes, and a variety of other contractual terms such as non-solicitation and non-poaching agreements, as the NLRB currently believes these violate section 7 of the NLRA, with narrowly construed exceptions. The bulk of the memorandums were directed at employer-to-employee conduct. Following these memorandums, the FTC issued its proposed regulation regarding non-competes which was subsequently overturned by a Texas court. While the FTC issue remains open-ended, as the government has indicated an intent to appeal this determination, the NLRB is zealously enforcing its new expectations in a variety of regions.
On September 12, 2024, the NLRB in Newark, New Jersey (Region 22) issued an Unfair Labor Practice complaint (ULP) based on employer-to-employer conduct. In this instance, the company at issue, a vendor, consistently included a no-poaching clause within its vendor agreements. Specifically, the company contracting with the vendor would not attempt to hire, solicit, or encourage any of the vendor employees to become employees of the company receiving the vendor’s services. In the complaint, the NLRB specifically states that provisions of this type, including the one in the vendor’s contract, “interfere with, and are inherently destructive of, workers’ rights under Section 8(a)(1) and (3) of the National Labor...
Topline Alexander Smirnov, the former FBI informant who was accused earlier this year of making false statements about President Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden, was indicted Tuesday on unrelate...