In the News: David Phippen and Tim Davis Author HR.com Article on NLRB Cemex Decision

Constangy attorneys Tim Davis and David Phippen's article “NLRB’s Decision Impairing Employee Voting Rights Changes The Labor “Playing Field” was featured in the May 2024 edition of HR.com’s HR Legal & Compliance Excellence magazine.

The article explored the National Labor Relations Board's (NLRB) recent ruling in the Cemex Construction Materials Pacific, LLC case that changed union organizing rules under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). The decision now gives employers a 14-day window to either recognize a union or file an RM petition for an election to protect employee rights to vote if a union claims majority employee support.

Davis and Phippen noted that there is no board procedure for verification of the union's claim of majority support other than filing the RM petition to put the issue to a vote. The NLRB's decision applies retroactively to all pending and future board cases unless a court intervenes or a new NLRB standard is announced. The authors stressed the need for employers to be aware of the Cemex "rules of the road" to respond lawfully to union organizing and union demands for recognition.

"Expect the NLRB to continue to “push out” positions (through decisions and rulemaking) that are unfavorable to employers and often to employees’ interests to assist unions.,” Davis and Phippen wrote. “That, in combination with the Cemex framework, will result in even more union demands for recognition, more ULP allegations, more limits on employers’ communications, less informed employee-voter choice, and many more board representation and ULP proceedings." 

For the full article, please click here.