House Republicans Join Legal Effort to Strike Down NLRB Poster Regulation
Thirty-six House Republicans have filed an amicus brief in support of legal efforts to overturn a regulation by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) that requires all employers to post notice of their employees’ right to organize, among others.
The congressional amicus brief raises 3 critical legal issues:
- Congress did not – and has not – granted the board the authority to require a general notice posting by employers. Unlike the National Labor Relations Act, other labor and employment laws explicitly authorize notice postings. Absent that explicit authority, and a clear intent by the authors of the National Labor Relations Act to withhold that authority, the board’s regulation exceeds its lawful powers;
- Congress has restricted the board’s authority to actual parties, in pending cases, and adjudicated facts based on an evidentiary hearing. The limited scope of the board’s authority is central to the law’s constitutional standing, and it cannot be expanded at the whim of the current board majority; and
- The NLRB’s regulation undermines efforts by Congress to inform workers of other important rights, including workplace safety and discrimination. A board of bureaucrats cannot be allowed to undermine this important responsibility of the people’s elected representatives.
The amicus brief was filed with the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia and the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina Charleston Division. The legal challenge to the rule is being pursued by the National Association of Manufacturers.
Additionally, House and Senate Republicans on Feb. 16, 2012, filed a Resolution of Disapproval (ROD) in their respective bodies that challenges the regulation. The ROD is permitted by the Congressional Review Act and permits a simple majority of the Senate to stop the NLRB from implementing the regulation. The House ROD (H.J. Res. 103) is supported by 65 Representatives, while the Senate ROD (S.J. Res. 63) is supported by 44 Senators. The Senate will have a 60-day window to vote on the measure.