USCIS Clarifies Policy on L-1 Petitions

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has issued policy guidance in the USCIS Policy Manual clarifying that a sole proprietorship may not file a petition on behalf of its owner because the sole proprietorship does not exist as a distinct legal entity separate and apart from the owner. This Policy Manual update affirms the existing guidance. The update distinguishes a sole proprietor from a self-incorporated petitioner (such as a corporation or a limited liability company with a single owner), where the corporation or the single member limited liability company is a separate and distinct legal entity from its owner, which may petition for that owner. This update also clarifies guidance regarding blanket petitions. International organizations file blanket L-1 petitions on behalf of all individual entities named in the petition. USCIS is updating policy guidance to clarify that the failure to timely file an extension of the blanket petition does not trigger the 3-year waiting period before another blanket petition may be filed. This guidance, contained in Volume 2 of the Policy Manual, is effective immediately. The guidance contained in the Policy Manual is controlling and supersedes any related prior guidance on the topic. The L-1 nonimmigrant visa classification enables a U.S. employer that is part of a qualifying organization to temporarily transfer employees from one of its related foreign offices to locations in the United States. Existing USCIS policy and practice provide that a sole proprietorship may not file an L-1 petition on behalf of its owner.

Kevin McClue Named Regional Attorney in Region 15-New Orleans

Today, National Labor Relations Board General Counsel Jennifer A. Abruzzo announced the appointment of Kevin McClue as the Regional Attorney of the NLRB Region 15-New Orleans, Louisiana. With a Regional Office in New Orleans, a Resident Office in Little Rock, and a Subregional Office in Memphis, Region 15 is responsible for conducting elections, investigating unfair labor practice charges, and protecting the right of workers to act collectively to improve their wages and working conditions throughout parts of Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Tennessee. Mr. McClue graduated from Loyola University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science in 1986. In 1989, he received his Juris Doctor from the Tulane University School of Law. Prior to joining the Agency in 2000 as a Field Attorney, he served on active duty in the United States Army as member of the Judge Advocate General’s Corps and was the Executive Director of the Legal Aid Bureau in New Orleans. Since 2012, Mr. McClue has served in various supervisory positions with the Agency, including Supervisory Field Attorney of the NLRB’s Region 15 and nationwide Supervisory Compliance Attorney in the Division of Operations-Management in Washington, DC. “Kevin is a tremendous public servant with a strong commitment to the National Labor Relations Act and the Agency,” said General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo. “Throughout his long tenure, he has performed exceedingly well in roles of increasing responsibility, and I know that he will continue to do so as part of Region 15’s management team.”

Daily eBriefs - October 18, 2023

Employment Facebook shareholders adequately pleaded falsity as to statements in a 2016 Form 10-K filing with the Securities Exchange Commission in which Facebook represented the risk of third parties improperly accessing and using Facebook users’ data as purely hypothetical. In re Facebook Securities Litigation - filed Oct. 18, 2023 Cite as 2023 S.O.S. 22-15077 Full text click here >http://sos.metnews.com/sos.cgi?1023//22-15077.

Daily eBriefs - October 18, 2023

Employment Substantial evidence supported a finding that an employer committed an unfair labor practice by refusing to rehire union-affiliated former employees so it could avoid its statutory duty to bargain; an inference of animus could be drawn from the employer’s prior unlawful conduct and the testimony of a human resources manager. Kava Holdings v. National Labor Relations Board - filed Oct. 18, 2023 Cite as 2023 S.O.S. 21-70225 Full text click here >http://sos.metnews.com/sos.cgi?1023//22-15077.

NLRB Expands Website Language Accessibility

October 13, 2023 Today, the NLRB launched a new series of pages on its website that feature information in 17 languages on employee rights and employer responsibilities under the National Labor Relations Act. It also contains information on how to contact the Agency in those languages. The NLRB utilizes board agents and interpreters to assist in serving employees who speak languages other than English. Over the next several months, the NLRB will develop additional translated materials that will also be available on the website. “Workers need to know their statutory rights in order to fully exercise them,” said NLRB General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo. “One of my top goals as General Counsel is robust education, protection, and enforcement of workers’ rights under the National Labor Relations Act. Having information available in as many languages as possible is a powerful tool toward reaching that goal.” As part of the NLRB’s initiative to reach speakers of other languages, in 2022, the NLRB created a Spanish language e-filing service on its website for users to file unfair labor practice charges and petitions for union elections. In March 2021, the NLRB launched a Spanish website with information about the National Labor Relations Board.

Unfair Labor Practices Charge Filings Up 10%, Union Petitions Up 3% in Fiscal Year 2023

October 13, 2023 Newly released case processing data confirms that the National Labor Relations Board continues to see an increasing demand for its services. In Fiscal Year (FY) 2023 (October 1, 2022–September 30, 2023), 22,448 cases were filed with the Agency, an increase of 10% over FY 2022. This was the highest number of cases filed since FY 2016. The Agency saw increases in both unfair labor practice charges and representation-related activity. In FY 2023, the number of unfair labor practice (ULP) charges filed with NLRB’s 48 Field Offices increased 10%—from 17,988 charges in FY 2022 to 19,854 charges in FY 2023, continuing the increase from FY 2021 to FY2022 when the Agency saw a 19% increase in ULPs filed. During the same period, 2,594 union representation petitions were filed—a 3% increase over FY 2022. This uptick in filings builds on last fiscal year’s dramatic surge in representation-related activity and represents the highest number filed since FY 2015. In FY 2022, 2,510 union representation petitions were filed—a 53% increase from the 1,638 petitions field in FY 2021. In another notable election-related development, after the Board released its decision in Cemex, Field Offices received 28 RM petitions filed by employers after being asked to voluntarily recognize employees’ union. Under the Cemex framework, when a union requests recognition on the basis that a majority of employees in an appropriate bargaining unit have designated the union as their representative, an employer must either recognize and bargain with the union or promptly file an RM petition. This increase in activity in the Agency’s field offices resulted in a corresponding increase in workload for the adjudicative side of the agency. The Board issued 246 decisions in contested cases during FY 2023, including more than a dozen significant precedent-setting cases, an uptick from 243 decisions in FY 2022. The Board’s increased productivity also slightly lowered the median age of cases pending before the Board—from 108 days in FY 2022 to 106 days in FY 2023. As was the case at the end of FY 2022, however, the Board’s case processing achievements were overtaken by a significant jump in case intake. In FY 2023, the Board received 321 unfair labor practice and representation cases, up from 308 cases in FY 2022, driven by a 10% rise in representation cases brought before the Board. As a result, although the Board—even at static staffing levels—processed more cases than last fiscal year, the rise in case intake left 191 cases pending before the Board at the end of FY 2023, an increase from 145 in FY 2022. The increased workload on both sides of the Agency remains a challenge, and comes as the NLRB continues to deal with funding and staffing shortages. In December 2022, Congress gave the NLRB a $25 million increase for FY 2023, ending a hiring moratorium, preventing furloughs, and allowing the NLRB to backfill some critical staff vacancies. However, the Agency remains understaffed after almost a decade of flat funding. In the past two decades, staffing in Field Offices has shrunk by 50%. “Dedicated NLRB employees have continued working hard to increase the Board’s productivity, but the continuing surge in case intake has again increased our year-end backlog. Although the Agency tremendously appreciated the $25 million increase in funding for FY 2023, and used every extra dollar to address critical staffing vacancies and infrastructure needs, additional resources are necessary to enable the Board to expand staffing capacity and continue processing cases more efficiently,” said Chairman Lauren McFerran. “Our committed and talented NLRB career employees continue to process cases with professionalism and care,” said General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo. “The President’s Budget requests $376 million for the Agency, which is much needed to effectively and efficiently comply with our Congressional mandate when providing quality service promptly to the public in conducting hearings and elections, investigating charges, settling and litigating meritorious cases, and obtaining full and prompt remedies for workers whose rights are violated.”

Elicia Watts Appointed as Director of the Office of Appeals

Today, National Labor Relations Board General Counsel Jennifer A. Abruzzo announced the appointment of Elicia Watts as Director of the Office of Appeals. In this position, Ms. Watts will oversee the Office which reviews appeals by employers, unions, and individuals who believe their unfair labor practice allegations have been wrongly dismissed by a Regional Office. The Office reviews about 2,000 cases per year. A 26-year veteran of the NLRB, Ms. Watts began her NLRB career in the Regional Office of Region 5 in Baltimore, Maryland in 1997 where she served as a field attorney. She then moved to the Washington Resident Office of Region 5 in Washington D.C. in 2000 as a senior trial attorney/specialist and handled high-profile regional litigation. In 2005, Ms. Watts transferred to the Office of Appeals and was then promoted to a supervisory position in 2008. She was named Deputy Director of the Office of Appeals in 2017. Ms. Watts also served as Acting Deputy Chief Counsel for Board staff in 2019. Ms. Watts received her bachelor’s degree from the University of California at Davis in 1992 and her Juris Doctor degree from the University of Pennsylvania Law School in 1997. “Elicia has proven throughout her career to be a talented and dedicated public servant with a strong commitment to the National Labor Relations Act and the Agency,” said General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo. “For over 25 years, she has dedicated herself to advancing the Agency’s mission and I know she will continue to do so as she assumes her new role.” For more information, visit us at https://www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com/.