NLRB Election rules suspended

The NLRB has "temporarily suspended" implementation of the new representation procedure rules in light of judicial decisions questioning the validity of the approval process. The Board has indicated it will process the petitions filed since the April 30, effective date under the new rule, and similarly indicated it is determined to reimplement the new procedures, and likely in short order.

New Rules for union organizing

The NLRB has issued its proposed changes to representation procedures that will dramatically affect the representation election process by shortening the time between petition and election, by creating administrative traps to prevent employers effectively to  investigate issues before they are precluded and by creating union access to employees for communication. For example, the Excelsior list requirement is expanded to include known e-mail addresses of employees, and the information must be provided to the labor organization within 2 days of a direction or stipulation for an election. This together with the new persuader rules for attorneys and consultants finally provides substance to the claim the NLRB is changing the game to help unions organize. There is so much here to digest you can expect much disinformation and a lot of teeth gnashing. We will provide an objective analysis soon.