WASHINGTON, DC – The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has 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 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.
Public comments are invited on all aspects of the proposed rule and should be submitted within 60 days of the Notice’s publication in the Federal Register, either electronically to www.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. Because of precautions in place due to COVID-19, the Board recommends that comments be submitted electronically or by mail rather than by hand delivery.
Any person wishing to comment on any ongoing rulemaking by the National Labor Relations Board must do so in accordance with the applicable Notice of Proposed Rulemaking. Communications submitted in any other manner, including comments on the NLRB’s website, will not be considered by the Board.
The full Notice of Proposed Rulemaking may be found here.
Established in 1935, the National Labor Relations Board is an independent federal agency that protects employees and employers, and unions from unfair labor practices and protects the right of private sector employees to join together, with or without a union, to improve wages, benefits and working conditions. The NLRB conducts hundreds of workplace elections and investigates thousands of unfair labor practice charges each year.