NLRB Extends Time for Submitting Comments on the Proposed Fair Choice and Employee Voice Rule

To allow sufficient time for the public to file initial comments, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has extended the deadline for submitting comments on its proposed rule addressing blocking charges, voluntary recognition, and construction industry bargaining relationships under the National Labor Relations Act.

Comments may now be filed on or before Thursday, February 2, 2023. Comments replying to the comments submitted during the initial comment period must be received by the Board on or before Thursday, February 16, 2023. Absent extraordinary circumstances, no further extensions of the comment deadline will be granted.

The Federal Register is expected to announce and publish this extension of time later this week.

The proposed rule would restore the Board’s prior law, including the longstanding principles reflected in the traditional “blocking charge” policy first adopted by the Board in 1937; the Board’s “voluntary recognition” bar doctrine first established in 1966 and refined in Lamons Gasket Co., 357 NLRB 934 (2011); and the Board’s approach to voluntary recognition in the construction industry as reflected in Casale Industries, 311 NLRB 951 (1993), and Staunton Fuel & Material, 335 NLRB 717 (2001).

Public comments are invited on all aspects of the proposed rule and should be submitted either electronically to regulations.gov, or by mail or hand-delivery to Roxanne Rothschild, Executive Secretary, National Labor Relations Board, 1015 Half Street S.E., Washington, D.C. 20570-0001.