A federal judge in the District of Columbia refused to enjoin the implementation of the National Labor Relations Board’s new expedited election rule while the lawsuit to revoke the rule is pending.
Articles Discussing Labor Union Organizing.
Quickie Election Procedures and Timeline Takes Effect on April 14, 2015
This is just a quick reminder that effective today all NLRB elections will be conducted under the new election rules. These rules call for substantially shorter election periods (from the time of the election petition until the actual voting), electronic notice provisions, union rights to employee email addresses and other contact information, and many other changes. The NLRB has published a good summary of the new rules in their fact sheet. Given these new rules, if your organization is worried about union activity or organization, you must act immediately upon notice of any organizing activity to make sure you have sufficient time to react and present your views and position to your employees. With elections now proceeding on 3 week time frames (from petition to voting) and with a significant amount of work to be done with the NLRB during that time, waiting until an election petition is received will no longer be an effective strategy.
House and Senate Lawmakers Introduce Last-Ditch Legislative Efforts to Thwart NLRB Election Rule
On the day the National Labor Relations Board’s contentious “ambush” election rule took effect, members of the House and Senate introduced bills to preserve elements of the previous and long-standing representation election process.
NLRB’s “Ambush Election” Rules Take Effect
As we previously reported, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB, or Board) adopted a final rule amending its representation–case procedures that will shift the litigation of most disputes until after the election, speeding up elections and limiting the opportunity for an employer to run an effective campaign. Due to the condensed timeframe between receipt of a Notice of Petition from the NLRB and the date of an election, these amendments are referred to as the NLRB’s “ambush election” rules. Despite both houses of Congress voting overwhelmingly to block these amendments from taking effect, thanks to a presidential veto the NLRB ambush election rules take effect Tuesday, April 14, 2015.
The NLRB’s General Counsel Issues Guidance on the New Accelerated Election Rules
On April 14, 2015, the National Labor Relations Board’s controversial “quickie election” rule goes into effect. This week, the NLRB’s General Counsel, Richard F. Griffin, issued a 36-page guidance memorandum outlining the Board’s new representation election procedures under the rule (NLRB Office of the General Counsel, Memorandum 15-06 (April 6, 2015)). The General Counsel asserts that the new rule does not “establish new timeframes for conducting elections or issuing decisions.” However, almost every timeline for election procedures has been accelerated. This new rule significantly tilts the NLRB’s election procedures in favor of unions by reducing the normal time for NLRB elections from approximately 38 days to as little as 13 days from the filing of a petition.
President Vetoes Resolution Disapproving of NLRB Election Rule
As predicted, President Obama has vetoed S.J. Res. 8, a joint resolution of disapproval seeking to prevent enforcement of the National Labor Relations Board’s so-called “quickie” or “ambush” election rule. Under the Congressional Review Act (CRA), members of the House and Senate can vote in favor of nullifying federal agency rules by a simple majority vote. Both chambers readily approved this resolution in March.
No Reprieve for Employers: President Obama Vetoes Congressional Resolution Halting Implementation of NLRB’s Ambush Election Rule
Executive Summary: The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB or the “Board”) is now poised to implement its new “ambush election” procedures on April 14, 2015 after President Obama vetoed a Congressional resolution yesterday, which had overturned the Board’s controversial final rule changing the way it administers union representation elections. As discussed in our December 12, 2014 Legal Alert, the NLRB’s new rule dramatically shortens the time period between the filing of a petition for union representation and the holding of the election (from 40 days currently to as little as 15 days). The rule also substantially limits the opportunity for a pre-election evidentiary hearing on important issues such as the appropriate bargaining unit, supervisor determinations and individual voter eligibility.
House and Senate Consider Resolution Disapproving of NLRB Election Rule
The same day the Senate advanced a joint resolution (S.J. Res. 8) seeking to block implementation of the National Labor Relations Board’s expedited election rule, the House Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions, held a hearing to discuss a companion measure (H.J. Res. 29). Both resolutions are attempts to use the Congressional Review Act (CRA) to void the Board’s rule. As previously discussed, the CRA permits Congress to vote in favor of nullifying federal agency rules by a simple majority vote. While such attempts rarely succeed, in 2001 Congress did approve a joint resolution voiding the Department of Labor’s ergonomics rule.
Employers Must Be Prepared for New NLRB Election Rules
The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB or Board) has adopted a final rule amending its representation-case procedures that will shift the litigation of most disputes until after the election, speeding up elections, and limiting the opportunity for an employer to run an effective campaign. The rule will take effect on April 14, 2015. This rule was approved by a vote of three in favor to two against: Board Chairman Mark Gaston Pearce and Members Kent Y. Hirozawa and Nancy Schiffer voted to adopt the regulation while Board Members Philip A. Miscimarra and Harry I. Johnson III dissented, calling the new election rule “the Mount Everest of regulations: Massive in scale and unforgiving in its effect.”
Senate Hearing Focused on NLRB Expedited Election Rule
The National Labor Relations Board’s new “quickie” election rule—set to take effect on April 14, 2015—will detrimentally impact both employers and employees, according to many witnesses testifying at a Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) hearing. Lawmakers and panelists described the rule’s many amendments to the Board’s representation election procedures, and debated the rule’s practical implications for all parties involved.
New Efforts to Defeat the NLRB’s Expedited Election Rule Expected
As the April 14, 2015 effective date for the National Labor Relations Board’s so-called “quickie election” rule approaches, lawmakers opposed to this rule are expected to take every action within their power to stop its implementation. One option—filing a resolution of disapproval under the Congressional Review Act (CRA)—is expected to happen as early as next week.
NLRB Opens Company Email Systems to Employees for Communications Protected by the National Labor Relations Act
Executive Summary: Perhaps overlooked due to the announcement by the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB” or the “Board”) of its revised procedures for union elections, the NLRB issued a decision on December 11 that will have a far-reaching impact on employers’ e-mail systems.
The NLRB Issues its Long-Anticipated “Quickie Election” Rule, Making Union Organizing Faster and Easier
On December 15, 2014, the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) published its long-anticipated Final Rule on “quickie elections.” The Final Rule, which is scheduled to go into effect on April 14, 2015, significantly tilts the NLRB’s election procedures in favor of unions.
NLRB Creates Right to Use Corporate E-Mail to Organize and to Complain About Work: Ten Key Implications for Employers
In a precedent-setting ruling, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB or the “Board”) held last week in Purple Communications that Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) requires employers, except in very limited circumstances, to open their corporate e-mail systems to union organizing by employees and to group discussions among employees about the terms and conditions of employment during non-work time. The 3-to-2 decision overturns the Board’s December 2007 decision in Register Guard, holding that because a corporate e-mail system is the employer’s property, an employer could ban all non-business e-mail communications, including communications protected by Section 7. Significantly, because Section 7 applies to all employers, not just unionized ones, the Board’s decision affects almost every U.S. employer that provides a corporate e-mail system.
NLRB Issues its “Ambush” Election Rule
As expected, the National Labor Relations Board released its much-anticipated final rule amending union representation and election procedures. The rule is scheduled to be formally published in the Federal Register on December 15, and therefore take effect on April 14, 2015.