Voter List and Military Ballots Notice of Proposed Rulemaking
On July 28, 2020, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) in the Federal Register proposing two amendments to its current rules and regulations governing the conduct of elections held under the National Labor Relations Act. The NPRM can be found here.
The first amendment would amend the Board’s Rules and Regulations to eliminate the requirement that employers provide available personal email addresses and home and personal cellular telephone numbers of all eligible voters to the Regional Director and other parties during an election campaign. The Board believes, subject to comments, that elimination of this requirement will advance important employee privacy interests that the current rules do not sufficiently protect.
The Board also proposes an amendment providing for absentee ballots for employees who are on military leave. The Board believes, subject to comments, that it should seek to accommodate voters serving the United States in the Armed Forces in light of congressional policies facilitating their participation in federal elections and protecting their employment rights. The Board further believes, subject to comments, that a procedure for providing such voters with absentee ballots can be instituted without impeding the expeditious resolution of representation elections.
Comments may be submitted through http://regulations.gov or by mail to Roxanne L. Rothschild, Executive Secretary, National Labor Relations Board, 1015 Half Street S.E., Washington, D.C. 20570-0001. Comments may also be hand delivered by appointment as explained in the notice. In light of the ongoing national pandemic, the Board strongly encourages electronic filing of comments. The rulemaking docket RIN is 3142-AA17, and the Federal Register Document Number is 2020-15596. Comments must be submitted by 11:59 pm on or before Monday, September 28, 2020. Comments replying to comments submitted during the initial comment period must be received by the Board on or before Tuesday, October 27, 2020.