NLRB Again Proposes Amendments to Hasten Union Election Procedures | Practical Law

NLRB Again Proposes Amendments to Hasten Union Election Procedures | Practical Law

On February 6, 2014, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) issued proposed amendments to the rules and regulations governing its representation case procedures purportedly to improve and streamline its processes. The comment period on the proposed changes ends April 7, 2014.

NLRB Again Proposes Amendments to Hasten Union Election Procedures

Practical Law Legal Update 3-557-1187 (Approx. 4 pages)

NLRB Again Proposes Amendments to Hasten Union Election Procedures

by Practical Law Labor & Employment
Published on 11 Feb 2014 • USA (National/Federal)
On February 6, 2014, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) issued proposed amendments to the rules and regulations governing its representation case procedures purportedly to improve and streamline its processes. The comment period on the proposed changes ends April 7, 2014.
On February 5, 2014, the NLRB announced its proposed amendments to the rules and regulations governing NLRB representation case procedures, issued on February 6, 2014. The NLRB asserts that the proposed amendments are intended to simplify, streamline and modernize the filing and processing of petitions related to the representation of employees for collective bargaining negotiations. The amendments are also intended to make the processes of the panel (Board) heading the NLRB's election functions more transparent, decrease unnecessary delays and litigation and allow the Board to quickly determine if a case involves a representation issue and resolve that issue through a secret ballot election.
The proposed amendments would, among other things:
  • Permit unions to file and transmit election petitions and other documents electronically.
  • Require employers to file detailed position statements before the pre-election hearings.
  • Shorten the period between:
    • the filing of a petition and pre-election hearings; and
    • directions of elections and the elections.
  • Reduce pre- and post-election procedures.
  • Require employees to provide unions with telephone numbers and e-mail addresses of employees on voter lists to enable more union communication with voters.
  • Consolidate all election-related appeals to the Board in a single post-election appeals process.
The proposed amendments are substantively identical to the representation procedure changes first proposed in June 2011, which the NLRB adopted in part in its December 22, 2011 final rule and later rescinded consistent with the Federal district court decision in Chamber of Commerce v. NLRB (see Legal Updates, NLRB Issues Final Rule Amending its Union Election Process and NLRB Formally Rescinds Amendments to its Representation Case Procedures).
Board Members Johnson and Miscimarra dissented from the proposed rulemaking, asserting that, among other things, the proposed amendments would:
  • Hasten elections at the expense of resolving critical voter eligibility and bargaining unit composition issues beforehand.
  • Contradict requirements of the NLRA.
  • Fail to address election misconduct.
  • Impose broad changes unrelated to the issues causing delays in a small subset of elections.
  • Impose much of the same changes that many members of the public previously pointed out were flawed during the 2011 comment period and hearings on the earlier notice of proposed rulemaking.
The NLRB will be accepting initial comments on the proposed amendments through April 7, 2014, and reply comments through April 14, 2014. The Board will also be holding a public hearing during the week of April 7, 2014.
Update: The NLRB published in the federal register a notice for the public meeting occurring on April 10 and 11, 2014. The notice includes instructions for requesting an opportunity to participate or observe the meeting, and notes that the meeting might also occur on April 8 or 9, 2014.