By Nelson Cary and George Scheiderer
Earlier this week, Region 8 of the NLRB held a training session in Cleveland, Ohio, on the upcoming changes to the procedures for representation cases that will go into effect on April 14, 2015. This training session was one of more than 35 sessions the NLRB is hosting for practitioners across the country. Additionally, NLRB employees are receiving similar training on the upcoming changes.
The changes for representation cases include the addition of electronic filing and electronic distribution for representation case documents, increased employee information that must be provided by employers during the process, new deadlines, limitations on the pre-election hearing, and the allowance for consolidated election-related appeals at the conclusion of the process. At the Cleveland training session, the NLRB made a formal presentation (pdf) and distributed materials (pdf) that are applicable to the changes being made across all Board Regions.
In addition, the NLRB’s General Counsel released earlier this week a memorandum with additional guidance (pdf) on the rules. Labor professionals with a particular interest in the new election rules will want to review the highly technical memorandum in detail.
Clearly, the NLRB continues to move forward with implementation of the “quickie election” rules. Labor professionals are, therefore, well-advised to continue preparing for April 14th. At this point, only a decision adverse to the NLRB by one of the two federal courts handling lawsuits against the rule could possibly lead to a delayed effective date.