Procedures for petitioning for union representation are changing April 14, when a final rule proposed the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) go into effect.

The guidance is intended to explain how representation cases will be processed from beginning to end, incorporating both the final rule changes and the procedures that remain unchanged, according to published reports.

In his April 6 memorandum, General Counsel Richard F. Griffin, Jr., argues that the changes will “remove unnecessary barriers to the fair and expeditious resolution of representation cases, simplify representation-case procedures, codify best practices, and make them more transparent and uniform across regions.”

There are at least two pending legal challenges to the rule.

Representation petitions are filed by employees, unions and employers seeking to have the NLRB conduct an election to determine if employees wish to be represented for purposes of collective bargaining with their employer. For more details on the ruling, read the NLRB fact sheet here.