Hunter in Bloomberg Law on NLRB Rulings that Tip Balance toward Management Coping with Contagion

St. Louis Senior Counsel Jerry Hunter was quoted July 17 by Bloomberg Law concerning novel legal issues under the National Labor Relations Act caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Hunter said “it’s not that clear cut that the current three Members of the National Labor Relations Board rulings are always favorable for employers.”

“A lot of times it’s not necessarily that Republican boards are just totally pro-employer, nor that Democratic boards are just pro-union,” said Hunter, a former NLRB general counsel. “I don’t think this board, or anyone else, was looking at cases and thinking, ‘I’m going to rule for the employer.’ They don’t make up their minds based on the parties.” Hunter agreed that the board under President Trump has taken a more conservative approach than many preceding boards, including during his tenure under President George H.W. Bush.

“It’s more about a conservative philosophy of labor law versus a more liberal view of what the law is, as well as what the role of the government should be in refereeing the relationships between unions and employers,” Hunter said.