Here We Go Again, “Quickie Election II”
As we predicted in our last post, “It’s Official – The NLRB’s “Quickie Election Rule” Is Rescinded,” the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) announced on February 4, 2014 that it is issuing proposed amendments to its rules and regulations governing representation-case procedures. In substance, the proposed amendments are identical to the representation procedure changes first proposed in June 2011 and known as the “Quickie Election Rule.” See our previous posting for an outline of the “Quickie Election Rule.” Issuance of the proposed Rule was approved by Board Chairman Mark Gaston Pearce and Members Kent Y. Hirozawa and Nancy Schiffer. Republican Board Members Philip A. Miscimarra and Harry I. Johnson III dissented.
Identical to “Quickie Election Rule I”
The Rule that is identical to the previous Rule would:
- Allow for electronic filing and transmission of election petitions and other documents;
- Ensure that employees, employers and unions receive and exchange timely information they need to understand and participate in the representation case process;
- Streamline pre- and post-election procedures to facilitate agreement and eliminate unnecessary litigation;
- Include telephone numbers and email addresses in voter lists to enable parties to the election to be able to communicate with voters using modern technology; and
- Consolidate all election-related appeals to the Board into a single post-election appeals process.
History of the Rule
The history of this Rule goes back to June 2011 when the Rule was first published for comment. After considering the input provided in response, the NLRB announced on December 22, 2011 that it was going to implement a Final Rule adopting some of those proposed amendments and defer the remainder for further consideration. That Final Rule was invalidated by a District Court ruling that it had been adopted without a validly constituted quorum. The NLRB’s appeal of that ruling was dismissed in December 2013. Now with a full quorum of NLRB members, and without the uncertainty of possible invalidation of its actions because of invalid recess appointments, it is likely that the “Quickie Election Rule II” will become final later this year.
The public is invited to comment on the proposed changes. The deadline for comments is April 7, 2014.
Employers Prepare
Private employers who are subject to NLRB jurisdiction should expect that the implementation of this Rule later this year will embolden unions in their efforts to organize the employees of vulnerable employers. Management training on the rights and responsibilities of management and of employees will be vital to insuring harmonious working relationships.
The NLRB’s complete Notice of Proposed Rulemaking can be found here.
For further information on this topic, please contact Steve Lyman at slyman@hallrender.com or Bruce Bagdady at bbagdady@hallrender.com or your regular Hall Render attorney.
