Workforce Democracy and Fairness Act

To amend the National Labor Relations Act with respect to the timing of elections and pre-election hearings and the identification of pre-election issues. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Workforce Democracy and Fairness Act 2. Pre-election hearings Section 9(c)(1)(B) of the National Labor Relations Act ( 29 U.S.C. 159(c)(1)(B) (1) by inserting , but in no circumstances less than 14 calendar days after the filing of the petition upon due notice (2) by inserting after with respect thereto. An appropriate hearing shall be one that is non-adversarial with the hearing officer charged, in collaboration with the parties, with the responsibility of identifying any relevant and material pre-election issues and thereafter making a full record thereon. Relevant and material pre-election issues shall include, in addition to unit appropriateness, the Board’s jurisdiction and any other issue the resolution of which may make an election unnecessary or which may reasonably be expected to impact the outcome of the election. Parties may independently raise any relevant and material pre-election issue or assert any relevant and material position at any time prior to the close of the hearing. (3) by striking and shall certify the results thereof to be conducted as soon as practicable but no earlier than 35 calendar days after the filing of an election petition. The Board shall certify the results of the election after it has ruled on each pre-election issue not resolved before the election and any additional issue pertaining to the conduct or results of the election 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Workforce Democracy and Fairness Act 2. Pre-election hearings Section 9(c)(1) of the National Labor Relations Act ( 29 U.S.C. 159(c)(1) (1) by inserting , but in no circumstances less than 14 calendar days after the filing of the petition upon due notice (2) by inserting after with respect thereto. An appropriate hearing shall be one that is non-adversarial with the hearing officer charged, in collaboration with the parties, with the responsibility of identifying any relevant and material pre-election issues and thereafter making a full record thereon. Relevant and material pre-election issues shall include, in addition to unit appropriateness, the Board’s jurisdiction and any other issue the resolution of which may make an election unnecessary or which may reasonably be expected to impact the outcome of the election. Parties may independently raise any relevant and material pre-election issue or assert any relevant and material position at any time prior to the close of the hearing. (3) by striking and shall certify the results thereof to be conducted as soon as practicable but no earlier than 35 calendar days after the filing of an election petition. The Board shall certify the results of the election after it has ruled on each pre-election issue not resolved before the election and any additional issue pertaining to the conduct or results of the election 3. Determination of appropriate units for collective bargaining Section 9(b) of the National Labor Relations Act ( 29 U.S.C. 159(b) (1) by redesignating paragraphs (1) through (3) as subparagraphs (A) through (C), respectively; (2) by striking The Board shall decide or subdivision thereof: (1) In each case, prior to an election, the Board shall determine, in order to assure to employees the fullest freedom in exercising the rights guaranteed by this Act, the unit appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining. Unless otherwise stated in this Act, and excluding any bargaining unit determination promulgated through rulemaking before August 26, 2011, the unit appropriate for purposes of collective bargaining shall consist of employees that share a sufficient community of interest. In determining whether employees share a sufficient community of interest, the Board shall consider— (A) similarity of wages, benefits, and working conditions; (B) similarity of skills and training; (C) centrality of management and common supervision; (D) extent of interchange and frequency of contact between employees; (E) integration of the work flow and interrelationship of the production process; (F) the consistency of the unit with the employer’s organizational structure; (G) similarity of job functions and work; and (H) the bargaining history in the particular unit and the industry. To avoid the proliferation or fragmentation of bargaining units, employees shall not be excluded from the unit unless the interests of the group seeking a separate unit are sufficiently distinct from those of other employees to warrant the establishment of a separate unit. Whether additional employees should be included in a proposed unit shall be determined based on whether such additional employees and proposed unit members share a sufficient community of interest, with the sole exception of proposed accretions to an existing unit, in which the inclusion of additional employees shall be based on whether such additional employees and existing unit members share an overwhelming community of interest and the additional employees have little or no separate identity. ; and (3) by striking Provided, (2) The Board . December 9, 2014 Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed

Summary: Workforce Democracy and Fairness Act - (Sec. 2) Amends the National Labor Relations Act to require the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to require that no investigative hearing take place until at least 14 days after the filing of an election petition regarding collective bargaining representation when the NLRB has reasonable cause to believe that the petition raises a question of representation affecting commerce. Requires such hearings to be non-adversarial, and the hearing officer, in collaboration with the parties, to identify any relevant and material pre-election issues. Requires the NLRB, in cases where it finds that a question of representation exists, to: (1) direct an election by secret ballot as soon as practicable but not before 35 calendar days after the filing of the election petition, and (2) certify election results only after it has ruled on each pre-election issue not resolved before the election and any additional issue pertaining to the conduct or results of that election. (Sec. 3) Revises requirements for determination by the NLRB of an appropriate bargaining unit before an election of collective bargaining representation. (In effect reverses the NLRB's August 26, 2011, decision in Specialty Healthcare and Rehabilitation of Mobile and its June 22, 2011, rulemaking regarding proposed changes to procedures involving the election of collective bargaining representation.) Replaces the current restriction in the meaning of collective bargaining unit to employer unit, craft unit, plant unit, or subdivision. Requires the NLRB, instead, to determine a unit as appropriate for collective bargaining if it consists of employees that share a sufficient community of interest. Specifies factors the NLRB must consider when making such determinations. Prohibits exclusion of employees from the unit unless the group's interest are sufficiently distinct from those of other employees to warrant the establishment of a separate unit.