Sixth Circuit Approves NLRB Micro-Bargaining Units

On August 15, 2013, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the National Labor Relations Board's (NLRB or the Board) controversial ruling in Specialty Healthcare, 357 NLRB No. 83 (2011), which has allowed the proliferation of what some term "micro-bargaining units."  This decision makes it easier for unions to organize employees from all industries into smaller units than in the past and makes it challenging for employers to successfully challenge smaller bargaining units.

The Board's Specialty Healthcare decision overruled its decision in Park Manor Care Center, 305 NLRB 135 (1991), which set forth the Board's previous test for determining the appropriateness of a bargaining unit in non-acute healthcare facilities.  Park Manor Care established a "pragmatic and empirical community of interest" approach that considered traditional community-of-interest factors, as well as evidence considered relevant by the Board during rulemaking concerning acute-care hospitals