Republican Senators Plan to Rein in the National Labor Relations Board

Republicans, who already had a majority vote in the House of Representatives, now have a majority vote in the United States Senate – although not the 60 votes required to override a President Obama veto. The Republican controlled Senate, led by Sen. Mitch McConnell, has endorsed the “NLRB Reform Act,” a bill introduced by Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN) that will “restore the NLRB to its proper role as an umpire instead of an advocate.” Some highlights of the NLRB Reform Act include: (1) increasing the number of members from five to six and forcing agreement by both pro-Union and pro-Company Members to take action; (2) ending trial by ambush against companies by giving them discovery rights; and (3) forcing the Board to render decisions within one year or risk losing some of its funding.

Matt Austin is a lawyer based in the Columbus, Ohio office of Roetzel & Andress, LPA who limits his practice to representing employers dealing with labor, employment, and OSHA matters. You can call Matt at (614) 723-2010 or email him at maustin@ralaw.com.