The new revisions expanded the deadlines employers had to meet certain obligations. The practical effect of the expansion will allow employers more time to educate their employees on a union that files a petition for an election, and why they should consider refraining from voting for a union and giving away their individual bargaining power to a third party they don’t really know.

Some of the revisions are as follows:

• The Pre-Election Hearing will generally be scheduled fourteen (14) business days from the Notice of Hearing. Under the prior rule, Pre-Election Hearings were scheduled eight (8) calendar days from the Notice.
• The Notice of Petition for Election will be posted within five (5) business days after service of the Notice of Hearing. The prior rule required posting within two (2) business days.
• The Non-Petitioning party (typically the employer) will now have eight (8) business days after the Notice of Hearing to file its Statement of Position, as opposed to seven (7) calendar days under the old rules.
• Elections will not be scheduled before the twentieth (20th) business day after the Direction of Election (if there is an NLRB hearing), which will substantially increase the time between the date the Petition for Election is filed, and the date on which the election is actually held.

Most employers will see this change as a step in the right direction, as many of those disaffected by the 2014 regulations believe they will stand a better chance at persuading their workers not to unionize during a pre-vote campaign when they have an extended timetable to do so.

These changes will take effect in six (6) months on May 18, 2020.