Board Invites Briefs And Signals A Possible Shift In Its Contract Bar Rules

On June 23, the National Labor Relations Board's (Board or NLRB) issued a decision in Mountaire Farms, Inc., 5-RD-256888 in which the Board granted review of a Regional Director's decision applying the Board's contract bar doctrine, finding that the case presented substantial issues warranting the NLRB's review and announcing its intention to establish a schedule for the filing of briefs on review and inviting amicus briefs.  On July 7, the Board acted on that intention and issued a Notice and Invitation To File Briefs in the case (Notice).

Under extant contract bar rules, dating all the way back to the mid-50s, workers, employers and other unions are barred from raising questions concerning an incumbent union's representative (QCR) status during the life of a collective bargaining agreement (CBA) unless a QCR, typically in the form of an election petition, is timely raised during the last 60 to 90 days of a CBA's term (not to exceed three years) or after the CBA