Getting Acosta confirmed and in place is critical, as NLRB just keeps making headlines and its issues remain in the forefront. This week, the 6^th Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a ruling by an NLRB administrative judge that an employer prematurely withdrew recognition of their union but also overturned the prescribed NLRB remedy. Employees of Scoma’s of Sausalito wanted to end their representation by UNITE HERE! Local 2850, so the company withdrew recognition. Unbeknownst to the employer however, some employees had changed their minds, so the union filed unfair labor charges. The NLRB sided with the union (surprised?) and ordered the employer to bargain the issue. The court acknowledged that the company was premature in decertifying but vacated the NLRB bargaining order, saying “It rewards the union for sitting on its hands.”  Elsewhere, the NLRB jumped into the right-to-work issue with both feet this week when an agency administrative law judge ruled that federal labor law preempts Wisconsin’s right to work policy as relates dues checkoff agreements. The judge found that a manufacturer violated the NLRA when it stopped deducting and remitting dues in accordance with Wisconsin law. The judge however, determined that “While Wisconsin law allows revocation of a dues-checkoff authorization upon 30-days’ notice, federal law permits dues-checkoff agreements that are irrevocable for one year.” In that vein, he found that “The two provisions are directly at odds with one another. I conclude that the provisions of Wisconsin’s law addressing that topic are preempted.” And finally, a federal judge in California ended a proposed class-action lawsuit against McDonald’s last week over joint employer status. Judge Richard Seeborg of the US District Court for the Northern District of California agreed with the Golden Arches and dismissed the class-action effort. Notwithstanding, the franchise’s employees plan to appeal the decision and pursue class-action status.