The National Labor Relations Board on Dec. 21 issued for publication in the Dec. 22 Federal Register a final rule amending its rules and regulations for filing and processing petitions for union representation. The rule takes effect on April 30.
On Dec. 20, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s National Chamber Litigation Center and the Coalition for a Democratic Workplace filed a federal lawsuit claiming the final rule violates the National Labor Relations Act, Administrative Procedure Act, Regulatory Flexibility Act, and free speech and due process constitutional rights. According to the NCLC, “The rule drastically speeds up the election process, depriving employers of a fair opportunity to explain to employees the costs of unionizing and curbing employers’ opportunities to bring legal challenges to proposed representation elections.”
The American Hospital Association, a member of CDW, is reviewing the rule and will have more information for members in January. In November, the NLRB voted to include in the rule provisions giving the hearing officer authority to limit the pre-election hearing to matters relevant to the question of whether an election should be held and to decide whether to permit briefing of pre-election issues; end the practice of delaying the scheduling of elections to permit time for a pre-election appeal; consolidate pre- and post-hearing appeals into a single post-election procedure and eliminate appeals of issues that become moot because of the election result; and give the Board discretion to hear and decide any appeals to the election process.
