Inside ICI


Business & Leadership Development Conference Highlight: Rick Alaniz


Labor and Employment Under Biden


most of the Trump immigration measures is a prime example. As expected, changes to labor and employment policy are also high on the list for administrative action. During his campaign for the White House, Biden promised to revive unions whose membership numbers are approaching their lowest in modern history. He also promised to aggressively enforce all workplace laws, something which he asserted had not occurred under Trump. Almost as promptly as he reversed existing immigration


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procedures, President Biden took steps to deliver on his promises to unions. He immediately fired Peter Robb, the General Counsel of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). That is the federal agency tasked with enforcing all union-related laws in the workplace. Robb had been a frequent target of attacks by Democrats in Congress, as well as union leaders, as being hostile to unions. The NLRB issues decisions in cases involving disputes between unions and employers. It also issues rules and regulations on day-to-day NLRB procedures.


Consistent with the campaign promise to aggressively


enforce workplace laws, one of the first steps taken was the selection of the former Boston mayor and trade union labor leader, Marty Walsh, to serve as the head of the Department of Labor (DOL). In addition, partly in response to claims of lax enforcement of Coronavirus safety protocols, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) was directed to double the number of its investigators and ramp up safety inspections. Similarly, another division of the DOL, the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP), which monitors affirmative action compliance by federal contractors, was ordered to add staff and increase compliance audits. The most significant legislative priority regarding labor of


the Biden administration is securing passage of the Protecting the Right to Organize Act (PRO Act). It has been described as a wish list for organized labor and would dramatically tilt the playing field in favor of unions. The PRO Act includes such drastic provisions as the repeal of right-to-work laws, the use


16 ❘ March 2021 ®


About Rick Alaniz Richard D. Alaniz is a partner at Alaniz


Law & Associates,


pllc, a labor and employment firm based in Houston. He has been at the forefront of labor and employment law for over forty years, including stints with the U.S. Department of Labor and the National Labor Relations Board. Rick is a prolific writer on labor and employment law and conducts frequent seminars to client companies and trade associations across the country. Questions about this article, or requests to subscribe to receive Rick’s monthly articles, can be addressed to Rick at (281) 833-2200 or ralaniz@alaniz-law.com.


ost of the Biden administration’s actions in its earliest days have been to reverse numerous Trump administration policies. The overnight reversal of


of card check to force unionization on an employer in certain cases, introduces new civil monetary penalties for labor law violations, provides for a new private cause of action against employers, reinstates the “quickie election rules of the Obama NLRB, bans employers from permanently replacing strikers, and permits secondary boycotts of employers, a practice banned since 1947. The proposed law is certain to pass the House once again, but Senate passage could prove difficult. The pro-labor focus of the new administration, especially


the aggressive enforcement of the numerous workplace laws, is certain to have a major impact on many U.S. workplaces. A pro-union NLRB will reverse many of the Trump-era NLRB decision deemed pro-employer. A DOL, essentially hostile to businesses, will try to make examples of those employers who fail to strictly comply with wage and hour laws. From a regulatory standpoint, the next four years will indeed be very challenging for employers. In anticipation of what could prove to be unprecedented


scrutiny of workplace policies and procedures, employers should take the time now to prepare. A thorough review might reveal shortcomings that can be addressed before an issue arises.


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