The National Labor Relations Board on Friday issued a final rule that it said restores and protects workers’ decisions regarding whether they want to be represented by a union in the workplace.
The Fair Choice–Employee Voice final rule will be published in the Federal Register Aug. 1, although a PDF is available now. The rule will be effective Sept. 30 and only will apply to cases filed after that day.
“Today’s rule restores the Board’s prior law, including long-standing principles that ensure a fair process for workers to choose whether they want representation, and provide a better foundation to allow collective bargaining relationships to thrive,” NLRB Chairman Lauren McFerran said Friday in a statement.
The rule rolls back the clock to a pre-2020 rule that the NLRB said required “regional directors to run elections in an election environment tainted by unfair labor practices.” According to Friday’s statement, regional directors now have the authority to delay elections under certain circumstances.
Additionally, the new rule permits voluntary recognition of collective bargaining by both workers and employers. Under the previous, Trump-era, rule, after an employer recognized a union represented by a majority of workers, the minority of workers were allowed 45 days to request an election questioning that choice.
Friday’s rule, according to the NLRB, restores a 56-year-old voluntary recognition bar, “respecting the bargaining relationship that the parties have voluntarily chosen.” That is, collective bargaining is to begin during a reasonable time, which the board defined as no less than six months after the parties’ first bargaining session and no more than a year after that date.
The proposed rule was published in November 2022, and comments on it were accepted through February 2023.
