Supreme Court to Rule on Authority of Two-Member NLRB
This week the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear an appeal in New Process Steel v. NLRB and determine whether the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB or "the Board") has the authority to decide cases with only two sitting members.
The NLRB is the independent federal agency that administers the National Labor Relations Act, the primary law governing relations between unions and employers in the private sector. Typically, the NLRB is made up of five members, appointed by the President. There are currently three vacancies on the Board, leaving only two sitting members. The statute governing the NLRB's powers (29 U.S.C. § 153(b), if you really care) provides that "three members of the Board shall, at all times, constitute a quorum of the Board." Nevertheless, the two remaining Board members have decided a number of cases, under the theory that as long as those two members agree, they would have formed the majority of any three-member quorum anyway.
The Court will resolve a split between the federal appellate courts. In New Process Steel v. NLRB, (the case on appeal) the Seventh Circuit held that the current two-member NLRB does have the power to decide cases. The First Circuit agreed in in Northeastern Land Services v. NLRB. However, the D.C. Circuit disagreed in Laurel Baye Healthcare of Lake Lanier v. NLRB and rejected the power of a two-member Board to do anything. If you want to read more about this dispute, click here to read New Process Steel's Petition for Writ of Certiorari to the Court.
For most employers, New Process Steel will have little relevance--none of the cases decided by the two-member Board were particularly controversial, and none represented a significant departure from existing NLRB law. The only employers with a significant stake in the outcome of New Process Steel will be those employers whose cases were ruled on by the two-member Board. If the Court reverses New Process Steel, those cases will be reheard by a future three-member panel, and will likely be upheld.
Proposed Legislation Would Allow Employers to Fire Union Salts
The Truth in Employment Act of 2009 (TEA) would allow employers to lawfully fire employees who are suspected of “salting,” or attempting to organize the contractor's workforce from within on behalf of a labor union. The bill was introduced in the Senate by Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) and in the House by Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa).
TEA would amend the National Labor Relations Act to protect the employer from being required to hire any person who is seeking a job in order to promote interests unrelated to those of the employer. “Small businesses should never be forced to hire undercover union organizers who seek to bully workers and harm companies,” said Senator DeMint. “We must pass the Truth in Employment Act or successful small businesses will remain vulnerable to union salting tactics that threaten jobs." Click here to read Senator DeMint's press release on TEA.
Does TEA have a realistic chance of becoming law? Not really. The Republicans unsuccessfully tried to pass TEA in 2005 and 2007, and that was when they had a fellow Rebpublican in the White House and much better numbers in both houses. Expect this one to die on the vine.
Employers can take some solace, however; last year, the National Labor Relations Board held in Toering Electric Company that an employer is not required to hire an employee who is not "genuinely interested in seeking to establish an employment relationship with the employer," thus significantly restricting the amount of salt in unions' diets. If you have concerns about union salting in your workplace, you might want to read the NLRB's Guideline Memorandum Concerning Toering Electric Company.
Supreme Court Rejects Appeal on Aliens' Right to Vote in Union Elections
Earlier this month, the United States Supreme Court declined to review a ruling from the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit holding that unauthorized aliens are "employees" under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) and therefore entitled to cast votes in a union election.
In Agri Processor Co. v. NLRB, the employees elected the United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local 342 as their bargaining agent in 2005 election; however, the employer refused to bargain with the union on the basis that 17 of the 21 employees who cast ballots were not legally authorized to work in the United States, and therefore not "employees" under the NLRA.
In a 2-1 decision that was affirmed by the D.C. Circuit, the National Labor Relations Board held that the certification of Local 342 was valid because the voters were employees under the NLRA even if they were hired in violation of the Immigration Reform and Control Act. That decision will stand now that the Supreme Court has passed on its opportunity to review the case. With the passage of the Employee Free Choice Act appearing all but certain, authorization cards signed by unauthorized alien employees will likely be held valid as well.
