When charges filed in connection with employee terminations amid union organizing campaigns are found meritorious, the NLRB general counsel’s office will now consider seeking a federal 10(j) injunction compelling an employer to offer worker reinstatement pending litigation of the underlying unfair labor practice case
Source: National Labor Relations Board, Washington, D.C.
When charges filed in connection with employee terminations amid union organizing campaigns are found meritorious, the NLRB general counsel’s office will now consider seeking a federal 10(j) injunction compelling an employer to offer worker reinstatement pending litigation of the underlying unfair labor practice case. Firing an employee in the middle of a union organizing campaign can quickly destroy the campaign by creating a climate of fear in the workplace. We need to ensure unlawfully fired employees’ [statutory rights] are restored in real time, Acting General Counsel Lafe Solomon noted in an announcement of an initiative driving timely court filings.
A memorandum instructs NLRB regional directors to immediately investigate allegations of unlawful firings in organizing cases and, if merit is found, to submit them to the general counsel’s office with a short memo, ideally within a week of their findings. Solomon told staff that he will personally review each case, based on recommendations from the Injunction Litigation Branch and regional director. Under NLRB processes, the general counsel must obtain Board authorization before seeking a 10(j) injunction. Chairman Wilma Liebman said that the Board has revisited its procedures for reviewing such requests and recognizes that 10(j) injunctions are a vital enforcement tool and time is of the essence in this kind of case.