March 31, 2020 – Washington D.C.- The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has finalized a
series of amendments to Part 103 of its Rules and Regulations. The Board
believes that these amendments better protect employees’ statutory right of
free choice on questions concerning representation. The final rule will be
published in the Federal Register tomorrow, April 1, 2020.
The amendments, proposed by the
Board on August 12, 2019 and as modified in the final rule, include:
- Blocking Charge Policy: The amendment replaces the current blocking charge policy
with either a vote-and-count or a vote-and-impound procedure. Elections
would no longer be blocked by pending unfair labor practice charges, but
the ballots would be either counted or impounded—depending on the nature
of the charges—until the charges are resolved. Regardless of the nature of
the charge, the certification of results (including, where appropriate, a
certification of representative) shall not issue until there is a final
disposition of the charge and its effect, if any, on the election
petition.
- Voluntary Recognition Bar: The amendment returns to the rule of Dana Corp.,
351 NLRB 434 (2007). For voluntary recognition under Section 9(a) of the
Act to bar a subsequent representation petition—and for a post-recognition
collective-bargaining agreement to have contract-bar effect—unit employees
must receive notice that voluntary recognition has been granted and are
given a 45-day open period within which to file an election petition. The
amendment applies to a voluntary recognition on or after the effective
date of the rule.
- Section 9(a) Recognition in the Construction Industry: The amendment states that in the construction industry,
where bargaining relationships established under Section 8(f) cannot bar
petitions for a Board election, proof of a Section 9(a) relationship will
require positive evidence of majority employee support and cannot be based
on contract language alone, overruling Staunton Fuel, 335 NLRB
717 (2001). The amendment applies to an employer’s voluntary recognition
extended on or after the effective date of the rule, and to any
collective-bargaining agreement entered into on or after the effective
date of voluntary recognition extended on or after the effective date of
the rule.
Chairman Ring was joined by
Board Members Marvin E. Kaplan and William J. Emanuel in finalizing the
amendments. A small-entity compliance guide to the final rule will be posted on
the Board’s website once the rule is published in the Federal Register which is
anticipated to occur on April 1, 2020.
The final rule can be
found here.
Established
in 1935, the National Labor Relations Board is an independent federal agency
that protects employees and employers, and unions from unfair labor practices
and protects the right of private sector employees to join together, with or
without a union, to improve wages, benefits and working conditions. The NLRB
conducts hundreds of workplace elections and investigates thousands of unfair
labor practice charges each year.
For more information contact us at http://www.beverlyhillsemploymentlaw.com/
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