105TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 3246
AN ACT
To assist small businesses and labor organizations
in defending themselves against Government bu-
reaucracy; to ensure that employees entitled to
reinstatement get their jobs back quickly; to pro-
tect the right of employers to have a hearing to
present their case in certain representation cases;
and to prevent the use of the National Labor Re-
lations Act for the purpose of disrupting or in-
flicting economic harm on employers.
105TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 3246
AN ACT
To assist small businesses and labor organizations in defend-
ing themselves against Government bureaucracy; to en-
sure that employees entitled to reinstatement get their
jobs back quickly; to protect the right of employers to
have a hearing to present their case in certain represen-
tation cases; and to prevent the use of the National
Labor Relations Act for the purpose of disrupting or
inflicting economic harm on employers.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Fairness for Small
Business and Employees Act of 1998’’.
TITLE I—TRUTH IN
EMPLOYMENT
SEC. 101. FINDINGS.
Congress finds that:
(1) An atmosphere of trust and civility in labor-
management relationships is essential to a produc-
tive workplace and a healthy economy.
(2) The tactic of using professional union orga-
nizers and agents to infiltrate a targeted employer’s
workplace, a practice commonly referred to as ‘‘salt-
ing’’ has evolved into an aggressive form of harass-
ment not contemplated when the National Labor Re-
lations Act was enacted and threatens the balance of
rights which is fundamental to our system of collec-
tive bargaining.
(3) Increasingly, union organizers are seeking
employment with nonunion employers not because of
a desire to work for such employers but primarily to
organize the employees of such employers or to in-
flict economic harm specifically designed to put non-
union competitors out of business, or to do both.
(4) While no employer may discriminate against
employees based upon the views of employees con-
cerning collective bargaining, an employer should
have the right to expect job applicants to be pri-
marily interested in utilizing the skills of the appli-
cants to further the goals of the business of the em-
ployer.
SEC. 102. PURPOSES.
The purposes of this title are—
(1) to preserve the balance of rights between
employers, employees, and labor organizations which
is fundamental to our system of collective bargain-
ing;
(2) to preserve the rights of workers to orga-
nize, or otherwise engage in concerted activities pro-
tected under the National Labor Relations Act; and
(3) to alleviate pressure on employers to hire
individuals who seek or gain employment in order to
disrupt the workplace of the employer or otherwise
inflict economic harm designed to put the employer
out of business.
SEC. 103. PROTECTION OF EMPLOYER RIGHTS.
Section 8(a) of the National Labor Relations Act (29
U.S.C. 158(a)) is amended by adding after and below
paragraph (5) the following:
‘‘Nothing in this subsection shall be construed as requir-
ing an employer to employ any person who is not a bona
fide employee applicant, in that such person seeks or has
sought employment with the employer with the primary
purpose of furthering another employment or agency sta-
tus: Provided, That this sentence shall not affect the
rights and responsibilities under this Act of any employee
who is or was a bona fide employee applicant, including
the right to self-organization, to form, join, or assist labor
organizations, to bargain collectively through representa-
tives of their own choosing, and to engage in other con-
certed activities for the purpose of collective bargaining
or other mutual aid or protection.’’.
TITLE II—FAIR HEARING
SEC. 201. FINDINGS.
The Congress finds the following:
(1) Bargaining unit determinations by their na-
ture require the type of fact-specific analysis that
only case-by-case adjudication allows.
(2) The National Labor Relations Board has
for decades held hearings to determine the appro-
priateness of certifying a single location bargaining
unit.
(3) The imprecision of a blanket rule limiting
the factors considered material to determining the
appropriateness of a single location bargaining unit
detracts from the National Labor Relations Act’s
goal of promoting stability in labor relations.
SEC. 202. PURPOSE.
The purpose of this title is to ensure that the Na-
tional Labor Relations Board conducts a hearing process
and specific analysis of whether or not a single location
bargaining unit is appropriate, given all of the relevant
facts and circumstances of a particular case.
SEC. 203. REPRESENTATIVES AND ELECTIONS.
Section 9(c) of the National Labor Relations Act (29
U.S.C. 159(c)) is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing:
‘‘(6) If a petition for an election requests the Board
to certify a unit which includes the employees employed
at one or more facilities of a multi-facility employer, and
in the absence of an agreement by the parties (stipulation
for certification upon consent election or agreement for
consent election) regarding the appropriateness of the bar-
gaining unit at issue for purposes of subsection (b), the
Board shall provide for a hearing upon due notice to deter-