The National Labor Relations Board has issued a proposed rule to modify three aspects of its election procedures. According to the board’s announcement, the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM), which will be published in the Federal Register on Monday and be subject to a comment period, would affect the Board’s blocking charge rule, voluntary recognition bar and collective-bargaining relationships in the construction industry:
- Blocking Charge Policy: The NPRM proposes replacing the current blocking charge policy with a vote-and-impound procedure. Elections would no longer be blocked by pending unfair labor practice charges, but the ballots would be impounded until the charges are resolved.
- Voluntary Recognition Bar: The NPRM proposes returning 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 a 45-day open period within which to file an election petition.
- Section 9(a) Recognition in the Construction Industry: The NPRM proposes 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).
For more information, see our article, Representation-Case Procedures, Students as Employees, Access to Private Property on NLRB Rulemaking Agenda. Jackson Lewis is preparing a more extensive analysis of the proposed rule, which will appear on our website shortly.