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On January 25, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) found unanimously that DirecTV had issued unlawful policies forbidding employees from communicating with the media and/or law enforcement officials. The board found the policy could reasonably be interpreted as prohibiting activities protected by the National Labor Relations Act. The board also found that DirecTV's "clarification" of the rules was not timely or effective. The full board decision and other documents can be found here. DirecTV U.S. DirecTV Holdings LLC, 359 N.L.R.B. No. 54, 1/25/13.

On January 28, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) released the fiscal year 2012 enforcement and litigation statistics. The statistics show nearly 100,000 job bias charges were filed in 2012, down slightly from the previous year. The most frequently filed charges were retaliation (37,836), race (33,512) and sex discrimination (30,356). In 2012, the EEOC also completed 240 systemic investigations resulting in 46 settlement agreements, continuing the focus on systemic patterns of discrimination in the workplace.

The fiscal year 2012 enforcement and litigation statistics, which include trend data, are available on the EEOC's website. 

All employers who are required to keep OSHA Form 300, the Injury and Illness Log, are required to post Form 300A, the Summary of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses, in a common area of the workplace from February 1 through April 30. The form is available here.

As union memberships fell across the United States, 13 states and the District of Columbia saw an increase in union membership in 2012. Even as the economy rose slightly in 2012, union saw losses in both the public and private sector. Seven states make up over half the union members nationwide they are: California, New York, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Michigan, New Jersey and Ohio. These states also make up about one third of all employment nationally.

A federal appeals court ruled that President Obama violated the Constitution in making three recess appointments to the NLRB. The court said the president could only fill vacancies when the Senate is in an official recess. President Obama claims that he acted properly because the Senate was on their 20-day holiday recess. The Constitution allows the president to make appointments without the Senate approval when the Congress is in recess. The GOP claims the Senate was in session. They used pro forma sessions, a tactic used by Democrats in the past to prevent the president from using his recess power. The GOP had blocked Obama's appointments for over a year making the NLRB powerless without the required members. This court ruling calls into question the validity of all board decisions since the appointments.

On January 1, 2013, the Senate and the House passed the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 ("Act"). The President signed the Act into law on January 2, 2013. Final passage of the Act prevented tax increases to most Americans that would have gone into effect automatically upon the expiration of the so-called "Bush Tax Cuts" on December 31, 2012, as well as massive spending cuts required by the sequestration process. The Act accomplishes this in part by making "permanent" the tax relief, for certain taxpayers, provided in The Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 ("EGTRRA") and The Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2003 ("JGTRRA"). To read a complete article written by BSW tax partner, Lance Kinchen, reviewing some of the key provisions of the Act, visit here.