The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) recently ruled that In-N-Out Burger, a fast food chain operating in the southwest and western United States, had violated Section 8(a)(1) of the National Labor Relations Act by prohibiting employees from wearing buttons, pins, or stickers on their uniforms. Although the burger chain defended themselves by saying they wanted to present a “sparkling clean” image to their customers, the board felt the chain did not adequately prove their right to restrict union insignia under the “special circumstances” exception. In-N-Out Burger does not currently have a union.

The case has brought two points to the forefront. One, most private employers are covered by the NLRA, even if they aren’t unionized. And two, burden of proof that a dress code does not violate these laws belongs to the employer.

For information about this case and ways employers can protect themselves, read more here.

The Senate confirmed Alexander Acosta for Labor Secretary this evening in a bipartisan 60-38 vote. In Acosta’s extensive history, he has served on the National Labor Relations Board and as the head of the civil rights division at the Justice Department. He has also been the dean of the law school at Florida International University and a U.S. attorney in South Florida.

Lamar Alexander, who chaired Acosta’s confirmation hearing, stated that “American workers are fortunate to now have a Secretary of Labor who understands the importance of a good-paying job and that harmful regulations from Washington have only made it harder to create, find, or keep good jobs.”

Learn more about the new Labor Secretary here and read Lamar Alexander’s full statement here.

On April 24, President Trump named Philip A. Miscimarra as National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) Chairman. Miscimarra was appointed Acting Chairman in January and has been sitting on the board since August 2013 after being approved unanimously by the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions. Miscimarra, a labor and employment attorney, was previously a law partner with Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP in Chicago, and a Senior Fellow at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton Business School in the Wharton Center for Human Resources. Read more about his extensive career in the NLRB press release here.

Minneapolis-based lawyer Doug Seaton has been placed on President Trump’s short list for one of the two vacant National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) seats. Mr. Seaton currently works as a consultant, educating employees on unions. Although he is colloquially known as a “union-buster,” Seaton does not consider himself anti-union. He has stated that unions “have a significant role to play,” but the NLRB has swung too far into pro-union territory, a swing he wants to balance if he receives the nomination.

Read more about Doug Seaton and his extensive experience here.

Five years ago, the Kansas City Star investigated the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers, Iron Ship Builders, Blacksmiths, Forgers (“Boilermakers”) union and discovered excess spending and lack of accountability by its leaders. In response, union executives cut salaries and expenses, as well as some positions, in a show of making amends. Those amends were short lived, however. In a recent followup to their original investigation, The Star discovered that the Boilermakers have not only returned to their excess spending habits and nepotism, but executive salaries have greatly exceeded levels from 2012, costing union members $3.5m annually.

Read more about this story and the impact it is having on the union and its declining enrollment numbers here.

The Senate Labor Committee has approved the nomination of Alexander Acosta for Labor Secretary. Acosta, who currently serves as the Dean of Florida International University’s law school, has previously served as an assistant attorney general for the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, as a U.S. Attorney for Florida’s Southern District, and on the National Labor Relations Board. The nomination will now advance to the Senate floor for full consideration.

Please read more about Mr. Acosta at the Wall Street Journal here and in the U.S. Senate press release here.