On December 18, 2014, we posted about the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) proposed rule which will expedite procedures for union representation petitions and elections. The proposed rule is expected to make it easier for unions to successfully organize employees because it will curtail the time available for employers to communicate to employees before the vote occurs.
The proposed rule is to take effect April 14, 2015. On Monday, January 5, 2015, the United States Chamber of Commerce, the National Association of Manufacturers and other management representative groups filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. The lawsuit challenges the proposed rule on the basis that it violates the First Amendment rights of employers to communicate effectively in response to union organizing and that it violates the due process rights of employers by preventing them from effectively exercising their rights in response to union organizing. The lawsuit asks the Court for an injunction prohibiting the NLRB from enforcing the rule and for an Order vacating the rule.