A new decision from the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) will change the way employers must respond to union card checks.
On Aug. 25, the board ruled that when a union requests recognition on the basis that a majority of employees in a bargaining unit supported the union, an employer must either recognize and bargain with the union, or promptly file a petition seeking an election.
"For decades, if a union demanded recognition based on signed union cards, the employer could simply decline recognition, and the union would be required to file a petition with the NLRB, requesting an election. Only if the union won the election and was certified as bargaining representative would the employer be obligated to bargain with the union," explained Mark Keenan, an attorney with Barnes & Thornburg in Atlanta. Under the new decision, "the onus will be on the employer to essentially challenge the union's majority status through the representation process."
"Many employers will not realize that they must initiate this process on short notice and will become unionized without ever having an NLRB election," said Ryan Funk, an attorney with Faegre Drinker in Indianapolis.
If an employer seeking an election commits any unfair labor practice that would require setting aside the election, the petition will be dismissed, and rather than re-running the election, the board will order the employer to recognize and bargain with the union, the NLRB said in a press release.
The NLRB's...
KATIE Price’s husband Lee Andrews was active on Instagram AGAIN after false claims that he was arrested. On Saturday, Katie, 48, was forced todeny claims by Lee’s dad that he had been arrested in ...