Federal District Court Upholds NLRB Ambush Elections Rule
Last Monday, a federal district court in Texas upheld the National Labor Relations Board’s (NLRB) “ambush elections” rule, which took effect in mid-April. The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) and the Texas Associated Builders and Contractors (TABC) had brought the lawsuit. The two groups filed an appeal to the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals the same day the district court ruled.
In a statement, NFIB Small Business Center Legal Director Karen Harned argued, “If this ruling stands, small businesses, which typically do not have in-house labor counsel, will have very little time to make preparations for a union election. It could take 10 days just to find a labor lawyer and get a meeting.” Harned also explained small businesses “would have very little time to educate their employees on how unionization could affect them, including the impact of union dues on their paychecks.”
The NFIB/TABC challenge is separate from a lawsuit brought by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce that is pending in front of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. The D.C. district court has already heard oral arguments in that case, but has not yet ruled.
To learn more about the “ambush elections” rule, click here – and then stay tuned to Connecting the Dots for more as the cases develop.