HR Roundup: Card Check Comeback?

• The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has moved to reinstate an abridged version of “card check,” which would strip employees of their right to secret ballots in union organization efforts.
  • The NLRB’s new framework would revive the 1949 Joy Silk doctrine, which holds that “employers must bargain with unions unless they have a good-faith doubt that majority support exists,” according to the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM).
  • This summary from OMA Connections Partner Thompson Hine examines the NLRB’s action, calling it a “massive shift in the union organizing process.”
• OMA Connections Partner Dinsmore has published this insight on the flurry of recent pro-union actions by the NLRB, while OMA Connections Partner Calfee has published this summary.
• OMA Connections Partner Frantz Ward offers this FAQs document answering employer questions about the new Pregnant Workers Fairness Act.
• OMA Connections Partner Roetzel published this summary of the federal proposed rule to increase the salary threshold for overtime-exempt employees from $35,568 to $55,000 a year.
• OMA Connections Partner Schneider Downs offers this insight into the IRS’ guidance on retirement catch-up contributions for certain highly compensated employees.

Meanwhile, the head of the UAW is warning that the union plans to go on strike against any “Big Three” automaker that hasn’t reached a new agreement by the time contracts expire at 11:59 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 14. Even a 10-day strike would mean an economic loss of $5.6 billion, according to estimates, with Ohio being among the most impacted states. 9/7/2023