A federal district judge has invalidated a unionelections rule this week on the grounds that the National Labor Relations Boarddid not have a quorum when the so-called “microwave rule” was voted on.
U.S. District Judge James Boasberg wrote in hisopinion that when the rule was adopted, the five-member board only had threemembers. Regulations stipulate that there must be a quorum of at least threeboard members present when considering new rules. Labor experts say that the NLRB can easily reinstate the law since it was essentially thrown out on a technicality.
That means more grimacing from long-termcare providers, who believe the rule unfairly shortens theunion elections process. There’s not enough time to inform employees about thedownsides of unionizing, providers argue. The legalchallenge to the rule was brought by the U.S. Chamber of Commerceand the Coalition for a Democratic Workplace.
Officials from the Assisted Living Federation of America, which has beenvocal in its opposition to the NLRB rule acknowledge that the rule could be reinstated.
“We realize that this is not the end of the road,” Paul J. Williams, ALFA’s senior director of government relations, told McKnight’s. “Everyone expects that the ruling will be appealed. You might expect to see some movement, or the filing of a formal appeal in the fall or later this year,” Williams added.
