Each year the General Counsel to the National Labor Relations Board meets with labor attorneys at the American Bar Association’s Midwinter meeting of the Labor and Employment Section. In this meeting, the General Counsel answers questions about the Board’s case handling processes and priorities.
On March 26, 2014, the NLRB released a memorandum summarizing the information provided by the General Counsel in this year’s meeting. For those of you too distracted by Opening Day or the final episode of “How I Met Your Mother,” here’s a quick rundown of the highlights:
- the Board plans to issue Advice Memoranda on a number of closely watched cases once decisions issue, including Neiman Marcus, 2-RC-76954 (applying Specialty Healthcare to retail store bargaining units); Pacific Lutheran University, 19-RC-91163 (determining the proper test for whether religiously affiliated educational institutions are exempt from the Board’s jurisdiction and whether adjunct faculty are managers under the NLRA); and United Nurses & Allied Professionals (Kent Hospital), 1-CB-11135 (may unions charge Beck objectors for various types of legislative expenses).
- the Board is considering new technologies, such as Skype and videoconferencing , to take witness affidavits;
- the median number of days from petition to election in R-cases in FY2013 was 38 days; and
- other than the pending “Quickie Election” rules, there are no plans for more rule-making from the Board.
So there you go – no need for you to travel to Miami Beach to hear this in person next year!