On January 20, 2017, the First Circuit Court of Appeals vacated a decision from the National Labor Relations Board, which had concluded that our client violated the law by maintaining a policy that gave hiring preference to its non-union employees for non-union positions that was similar to the preference that the client’s union employees received under their collective bargaining agreement for positions within their bargaining unit. In a unanimous decision, the Court reiterated that the NLRB should not “second-guess business decisions” and held that the NLRB may not invalidate an employment policy that accomplishes a legitimate goal in a nondiscriminatory manner merely because the Board might see other ways to do it. The case is captioned: Southcoast Hospitals Group, Inc. v. National Labor Relations Board, C.A. No. 15-2146, and a copy of the decision is available on the First Circuit’s website.

To discuss the decision or if you have any questions, please contact Matthew Parker directly at mparker@whelancorrente.com.