NLRB Re-Issues Expansive Proposed Representation Election Procedures Rule

As expected, the National Labor Relations Board has re-issued its proposed rule that would dramatically change and expedite the union representation election process. According to the Board, the proposed changes to the process "are identical to the representation procedure changes first proposed in June of 2011." Notably, the Board has chosen to re-propose the original "ambush" election rule, and not the scaled-back version it issued in December of that year, which a federal district court eventually invalidated because the Board lacked a valid quorum at the time of approval.

As previously discussed, many of the proposed amendments seek to shorten the time period between the filing of a petition and the election. In essence, these rules would implement many goals of the much-maligned Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA), which failed to advance in prior Congresses, and has no chance of passage anytime soon.