Hunter in ‘Daily Labor Report’ on Labor Concerns as Businesses Reopen

St. Louis Partner Jerry Hunter was quoted May 11 in Bloomberg Law’s Daily Labor Report regarding the labor landscape as U.S. businesses begin to reopen. Workers who are fired or reported to state officials for balking at going back to work during the pandemic may be able to seek recourse with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). Hunter, who was NLRB general counsel from 1989 until 1993, said board General Counsel Peter Robb will be the deciding factor if and when unfair labor practice charges start coming in. “The general counsel has the final authority to issue a complaint,” Hunter said. “For policy reasons – including that the Labor Department has said fear of COVID-19 is not a sufficient reason to refuse to go to work for unemployment insurance purposes – the general counsel could refuse to issue a complaint in some of these situations.”