As 2017 and Chairman Phillip Miscimarra's term drew to an
end, the National Labor Relations Board ("NLRB" or
"Board") issued a flurry of decisions overturning several
Obama-era NLRB decisions. Because Board members are appointed by
the President, the political make-up of the Board (5 members), and
its overall view of employer-employee-union behavior, changes on a
fairly regular basis. However, the scope of the recent decisions is
unusually broad and has resulted in many labor practitioners
telling their clients, "Remember when I told you [fill in the
issue]?—Well, never mind." Here is a brief book at some
of them.
Micro-Units
In 2011, the Board's decision in Specialty
Healthcare (Specialty Healthcare & Rehabilitation Center
of Mobile, 357 NLRB 934 (2011), enfd. sub nom Kindred Nursing
Centers East, LLC v. NLRB, 727 F.3d 552 (6th Cir. 2013).),
allowed for the creation of micro-units for the purpose of a union
election. Under that decision, if an employer decided to
