In an effort increase the use of the in-person or manual ballot method for conducting secret ballot elections, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB or Board) General Counsel (GC) has issued comprehensive “suggestions” for conducting manual elections safely during the COVID-19 pandemic. Memorandum GC 20-10 “Suggested Manual Election Protocols” (July 6, 2020). These guidelines were developed in collaboration with NLRB Regional Directors (RDs) and others. The NLRB conducts secret ballot elections among employees to determine…

The legal saga of the National Labor Relations Board’s (NLRB) new election rule took another turn on July 1 when a federal judge found the rule was a proper exercise of statutory interpretation.*  The entire new rule was scheduled to go into effect on May 31, but U.S. District Court Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson issued an 11th hour abbreviated Order on May 30 in a challenge by the AFL-CIO invalidating parts of the rule. The…

National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) General Counsel Peter Robb appears to want NLRB Regional Directors to give more consideration to holding manual, rather than mail, ballot elections than they have during the COVID-19 pandemic. According to Employment Law360, during a National Employment Law Council webinar, Robb announced he will post on the NLRB’s website his “‘suggested protocols’ for employers and unions to follow before the regional directors who process election petitions will call for in-person…

The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has explained the “past practice” analysis it applies in determining whether a unionized employer’s unilateral actions constitute an unlawful change under the NLRB’s decision in Raytheon Network Centric Systems, 365 NLRB No. 161 (2017). ABF Freight System, Inc., 369 NLRB No. 107 (June 19, 2020). An employer violates the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), the NLRB explains, “if it makes a material, substantial, and significant change regarding a mandatory…

U.S. District Court Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson of the District of Columbia has issued a detailed memorandum opinion explaining the reasoning behind her May 30, 2020 order granting summary judgment invalidating portions of the National Labor Relations Board’s (NLRB) revised rules for representation case elections. AFL-CIO v. NLRB, No. 20-CV-0675 (June 7, 2020) The key issue in the case concerned whether the 2019 election rule amendments promulgated by the NLRB were “substantive” rules affecting individuals’…

The National Labor Relation Board (NLRB) has implemented several parts of its new election rule. U.S. District Court Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson enjoined parts of the rule that, in her view, were not lawfully promulgated. AFL-CIO v. NLRB, No. 20-CV-0675 (D. D.C. May 30, 2020). For more on the ruling, see our post, District Court Hits “Pause” on New NLRB Election Rule. The entire rule was scheduled to go into effect on May 31.…

The United States District Court for the District of Columbia has blocked several of the provisions of the National Labor Relations Board’s (NLRB) new election rule. Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson court held that those aspects of the new rule were not lawfully promulgated, because the NLRB did not follow the public notice and comment procedure required to be used by federal agencies when promulgating substantive, as opposed to, procedural rules. The rule was slated to…