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Greg Ripple

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Greg Ripple is a Shareholder in Vedder Price’s Chicago office and a member of the firm’s Labor & Employment practice area.
Mr. Ripple’s practice focuses on a full spectrum of labor and employment issues ranging from daily consultation on statutory compliance to collective bargaining and traditional labor law issues.

Late on Monday, January 27, President Trump said “you’re fired” to two key National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) officials. The dismissal of NLRB General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo was widely expected and follows precedent set by President Biden when he fired Peter Robb, the NLRB General Counsel installed during the first Trump administration, on his first day in office. President Biden’s termination of Robb was upheld by various federal circuit courts. See Rieth-Riley Constr. Co. v. NLRB, 114 F.4th 519 (6th Cir. 2024) (holding the president can remove the NLRB General Counsel at will).Continue Reading Trump Tests Limits of Authority to Shape National Labor Relations Board

As we discussed in a previous post (linked here), many employers have recordkeeping and other annual compliance obligations under Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) regulations. Employers have a February 1, 2025, deadline to complete, certify and post a Summary of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses (i.e., OSHA Form 300-A) that occurred last year. The summary must remain posted through April 30, 2025.Continue Reading Reminder: Approaching Deadline to Post Last Year’s Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses

Employers need to be prepared to post required workplace injury and illness information by February 1, 2025.

Pursuant to Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regulations, unless an industry-specific exemption applies, employers with 10 or more employees must keep a Log of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses (i.e., OSHA Form 300) and must complete an Injury and Illness Incident Report (i.e., OSHA Form 301) for each recordable injury or illness.Continue Reading Approaching Deadline to Post Last Year’s Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses

On December 10, 2024, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB or “the Board”) took advantage of its Democratic majority in the waning days of the Biden administration to issue its decision in Endurance Environmental Solutions, LLC, and overturn a Trump-era standard that had strengthened management rights clauses in collective bargaining agreements.Continue Reading NLRB Weakens Ability of Employers to Rely on Management Rights Clauses in Collective Bargaining Agreements . . . For Now

The Supreme Court Rejects a Watered-Down Approach to Preliminary Injunctions

On June 13, 2024, the United States Supreme Court held that when considering the National Labor Relation Board’s (the “Board” or “NLRB”) request for a preliminary injunction under Section 10(j) of the National Labor Relations Act (the “NLRA”), district courts must apply the traditional four-factor test for injunctive relief rather than a less stringent two-factor test used by many courts in evaluating the Board’s injunction requests.  Starbucks Corp. v. McKinney, No. 23-367 (See here).Continue Reading Can I Please Get Four Shots of Espresso Instead of Two?

On Wednesday, August 30, 2023, the National Labor Board (“NLRB” or “the Board”) issued a pair of decisions—Wendt Corp., 372 NLRB No. 135, and Tecnocap LLC, 372 NLRB No. 136—that highlight the Board’s continued focus on increasing the power of organized labor and limiting employer authority.  The Wendt and Tenocap decisions overturn Raytheon Network Centric Systems, 365 NLRB No. 161, and Mike-Sell Potato Chip Co., 368 NLRB No. 145, which allowed employers to unilaterally change employees’ working conditions (during an initial contract negotiating period or while a new contract is being negotiated) so long as such changes were “similar in kind and degree” to the employer’s past practice (i.e., one that happened with “such regularity and frequency” that workers could expect it to happen again).Continue Reading NLRB Continues to Rewrite the Rules to Limit Employers’ Authority

Today, in perhaps the most significant change in federal labor law in more than 50 years, the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB” or “Board”) announced a new framework that determines when employers are required to recognize and bargain with a union upon demand, without a representation election. Continue Reading Unionization Upon Demand:NLRB Announces Most Significant Change to Labor Law in 50 Years

On August 2, 2023, the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB” or the “Board”) rejected an employer-friendly standard in favor of a modified and significantly less employer-friendly standard when evaluating whether a workplace rule violates the National Labor Relations Act (“NLRA”).  Stericycle, 372 NLRB No. 113 (2023).  In recent years, the Board’s opinion of what constitutes interference, restraint or coercion under the NLRA has changed depending on who is in the White House or on the Board.  This new ruling confirms the Board’s intention to increase scrutiny of employer’s workplace rules and policies.Continue Reading NLRB to Start Scrutinizing Employer Policies More Closely

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The headlines this week have provided striking images of smoke from Canadian wildfires descending on New York City, Boston, Philadelphia, and other cities in the United States.  The poor air quality associated with wildfires means more than cancelled sporting events, spoiled beach days, and cancelled flights.  Wildfire smoke can be extremely harmful to the lungs, especially for children, older adults and those with asthma, COPD, bronchitis, chronic heart disease, or diabetes.  According to the American Lung Association, wildfire particle pollution can cause bronchitis, asthma attacks, heart attacks and strokes.Continue Reading Canada’s Wildfires Are a Good Reminder of an Employer’s Duty to Provide a Workplace Free of Known Safety and Health Hazards

On Thursday, June 1, 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court, in an 8-1 decision, held that the National Labor Relations Act does not prevent an employer from suing a labor union in state court for alleged intentional destruction of property during a strike.  In Glacier Northwest, Inc. v. International Brotherhood. of Teamsters Local Union No. 174, the company filed a lawsuit in state court in Washington alleging that the union coordinated with truck drivers to time their strike so mixed concrete would harden and potentially damage the company’s trucks.  The Washington Supreme Court held that the National Labor Relations Act preempted state law and blocked the lawsuit from proceeding.  The U.S. Supreme Court reversed.Continue Reading Supreme Court Allows Employer to Sue Union. Is that a big deal?