Stoel Rives congratulates its client KapStone Paper and Packaging Corporation on its recent victory in a National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) trial that involved the discharges of four former employees who engaged in picket line misconduct during a strike. The Stoel Rives Labor & Employment team was led by James Shore and also included Keelin Curran, Karin Jones and Sandra Watanabe.
After an August 2015 strike turned violent, Shore and his team obtained a temporary restraining order and injunction in Cowlitz County Superior Court that helped end the strike. After reviewing many videotaped incidents that had occurred at its mill gates, KapStone terminated five strikers for picket line misconduct. The NLRB subsequently charged KapStone with labor law violations and sought reinstatement and back pay for four individuals who it alleged were wrongfully discharged. After a two-week trial in which Shore defended KapStone, the Administrative Law Judge issued a decision in KapStone’s favor on all charges.
The final decision can be found here.