Labor Law -- 2021



Mountaire Farms, Inc. v. UFCW   (NLRB)

NLRB reconsiders contract bar doctrine

The NAM filed an amicus brief with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) urging the Board to rescind or modify the "contract bar doctrine." The doctrine dictates that once a collective bargaining agreement is executed, no representative elections are permitted for that bargaining unit for up to three years. Further, an employee may only file a decertification petition during a narrow (and confusing) 30-day period between 60 and 90 days before the end of the contract. The rule is not found in the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), but rather is a creature of NLRB case law. Following invitation from the NLRB, the NAM filed a coalition amicus brief recommending that the Board rescind the doctrine because it interferes with the statutory right of employees to choose or refrain from choosing union representation. In the alternative, the Board should limit the duration of the bar period to just one year, instead of three years. Unfortunately, on April 21, 2021, the NLRB decided to retain its longstanding contract-bar doctrine.


Related Documents:
NAM brief  (October 7, 2020)