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NLRB New Fair Choice-Employee Voice Final Rule: Blocking Charge, Voluntary Recognition Bar, Construction Union Parity

Employer Impact and Compliance Challenges

A live 90-minute CLE video webinar with interactive Q&A

This program is included with the Strafford CLE Pass. Click for more information.
This program is included with the Strafford All-Access Pass. Click for more information.

Wednesday, November 13, 2024 (in 11 days)

1:00pm-2:30pm EST, 10:00am-11:30am PST

or call 1-800-926-7926

This CLE webinar will guide employment and labor practitioners through the NLRB's new "Fair Choice-Employee Voice" final rule, including changes from the 2020 rule, and address the impact on employers. The panel will discuss the new rule in the context of other recent notable NLRB rules and opinions, such as the 2023 Election Rule and the Cemex decision, and will offer best practices for compliance.

Description

The NLRB's new "Fair Choice-Employee Voice" final rule, effective Sept. 30, 2024, rescinds the Board's 2020 Election Protection Rule (2020 Rule) and reinstitutes three key policies: the blocking charge policy, voluntary recognition of a union, and construction union parity with other unions. The final rule is the latest in a line of recent NLRB activity, such as the 2023 Election Rule and the Cemex decision, making union organizing easier and compliance more difficult for employers.

The new rule reinstates the controversial "blocking charge" policy that permits certain ULP charges to block a Board-scheduled election. Under the new rule, based on the ULP, NLRB regional offices will halt the election while the ULP is being investigated, often delaying the election for months or years until the ULP is resolved.

The new rule also reinstitutes the voluntary recognition bar whereby an employer's voluntary recognition of a union immediately bars any filing of an election petition for a "reasonable period of time," at least six months, to allow for collective bargaining.

Finally, the new rule allows construction unions to gain voluntary recognition as the bargaining representative under Section 9(a), a major change for construction employers accustomed to recognition under Section 8(f) in which the union's representative status does not survive a contract's expiration. The new rule will protect the union's long-term representative status.

Listen as our expert panel guides practitioners through the NLRB's new rule and addresses the changes made from the 2020 Rule. The panel will discuss the new rule in the context of other recent notable NLRB opinions and/or rules and the impact on employers and offer best practices for compliance.

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Outline

  1. Introduction: history of the final rule
  2. The final rule
    1. Blocking charge policy
    2. Voluntary recognition bar
    3. Recognition of unions in the construction industry
    4. Differences from the 2020 Election Protection Rule
  3. Employer impact
    1. In the context of recent NLRB rulemaking and opinions including the 2023 Election Rule and Cemex
  4. Possible challenges and Loper Bright impact on rule
  5. Best practices for compliance
  6. Practitioner takeaways

Benefits

The panel will review these and other key issues:

  • How does the new rule differ from the 2020 rule?
  • How will the blocking charge policy and the voluntary recognition bar impact employers?
  • How does the new rule attempt to create parity for construction unions as compared to other non-construction unions?

Faculty

Chehab, Ahmad
Ahmad Chehab

Senior Attorney
Miller, Canfield, Paddock and Stone

Mr. Chehab focuses his practice on labor and employment law, including advising and representing employers in...  |  Read More

Scully, Patrick
Patrick Scully

Partner
Foley Hoag

Mr. Scully primarily focuses on labor law issues and helps clients successfully navigate complex and persistent...  |  Read More

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You may pre-order a recording to listen at your convenience. Recordings are available 48 hours after the webinar. Strafford will process CLE credit for one person on each recording. All formats include course handouts.

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