In March, the AFL-CIO sued the National Labor Relations Board to block its 2019 final election rule, officially known as Representation-Case Procedures, which would modify procedures for union elections and scale back provisions of the Obama-era “ambush” election rule. On May 30, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia blocked several aspects of the NLRB’s 2019 final rule, which were scheduled to go into effect on May 31. The District Court remanded the rest of the rules changes to the NLRB for reconsideration.

The District Court’s decision prevents five changes in the 2019 final rule from going into effect, which include:

• Reinstitution of pre-election hearings for litigating eligibility issues;
• Timing of the date of election;
• Voter list timing;
• Election observer eligibility; and
• Timing of regional director certification of representatives.

On June 1, the NLRB issued a press release announcing that it would move forward with the amendments that were not impacted by the court’s ruling, which include:

• Scheduling the hearing at least 14 days from issuance of the notice of hearing instead of the previous eight days;
• Posting the notice of election within five days instead of two days;
• Changes in timeline for serving the nonpetitioning party’s statement of position;
• Requiring a petitioner to serve a responsive statement of position;
• Reinstatement of post-hearing briefs;
• Reinstating regional director discretion on the timing of a notice of election after the direction of an election;
• Ballot impoundment procedures when a request for review is pending;
• Prohibition on bifurcated requests for review;
• Certain changes in formatting for pleadings and other documents; and
• Terminology changes and defining days as “business” days. 

In addition, the NLRB general counsel issued guidance (GC-20-07) on implementation of these provisions.

The NLRB indicated it intends to appeal the D.C Circuit’s decision. However, the situation remains fluid, and we will keep you posted in Newsline.

NOTE:  Any company that receives a union organizing petition during this period of uncertainty should be advised to seek legal counsel immediately.

The information contained in this article is intended for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice or opinion, nor is it a substitute for the professional judgment of an attorney.