Labor Board Appeals Ruling Against Vote on Union Ballot

The U.S. National Labor Relations Board will appeal a judge’s ruling that threw out changes to union balloting rules because the agency lacked a quorum.

The board, in a notice of appeal filed today in Washington, said it will ask the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington to reinstate a measure that would allow for faster votes in union elections.

U.S. District Judge James Boasberg in Washington threw out the board’s rule change on May 14, saying only two members participated in the December 2011 vote approving it. On July 27, he rejected the board’s request to reconsider the decision. The board argued that it reached a quorum because a third member of the five-person board had participated through an electronic voting system.

The rule change, challenged by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, simplified and shortened balloting. The compressed schedule could have cut the time permitted for voting in half to as few as 15 days.

Three members of the board are required to constitute a quorum.

The case is Chamber of Commerce of the U.S. v. National Labor Relations Board, 11-cv-02262, U.S. District Court, District of Columbia (Washington).

To contact the reporters on this story: Tom Schoenberg in Washington at tschoenberg@bloomberg.net;

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Michael Hytha at mhytha@bloomberg.net