As we reported last week, on November 18th, the NLRB announced that it would vote on "whether to adopt a small number of the amendments to its election procedures that it had proposed earlier this year." Yesterday, the Board moved forward with that vote. Predictably, the two Democratic Board members voted in favor of the amendments while Republican appointee, Brian Hayes dissented. Member Hayes had threatened to resign from the Board in order to block the vote from going through, but ultimately decided not to do that.

The controversial NLRB proposed rule includes various measures that would significantly shorten the time between when a petition for a representation election is filed and when the election occurs, making it difficult for employers to adequately respond to union organizer claims and promises. In response to the anticipated vote, the Republican majority in the House of Representatives was able to pass a bill intended to override the NLRB vote, but that measure almost certainly has no chance of passing in the Senate, where the Democrats have the majority.

It is expected that the Board will attempt to issue and vote on a final rule before the end of the year. We will keep you up to date on any developments on this critical story.