NLRB News

Last week the Seventh Circuit issued its decision in Richards v. NLRB, in which the employee plaintiffs (it was a dues objection case) had challenged the constitutionality of President Obama's recess appointments to the NLRB.  The court didn't decide this issue because it help that the employees lacked standing.  The reason was that the NLRB had already struck down the unions' annual renewel poilicies, which were the only source of alleged harm in the case.

In other NLRB news, the Board (with Member Hayes dissenting) just issued a decision in American Baptist Homes, on witness statements in employee discipline cases.  Basically, the Board reversed its per se rule against giving unions access to statements of witnesses who gave information to the employer during its investigation.  The Board determined that using the more general balancing test that is used for most information requests was more appropriate than a rule that always made those statements inaccessible to the union.

Hat Tip:  Rob Walkowiak & Dennis Walsh

-JH