The House of Representatives voted 232-186 on March 19th to disapprove the new NLRB election rules slated to go into effect on April 14th. The Senate passed a similar resolution of disapproval on March 4th.

Under the Congressional Review Act, Congress has the authority to “disapprove” (and thus nullify) an agency rule. However, as with any bill passed by Congress, resolutions of disapproval must be signed by the President to be enacted. The President has the authority to veto the resolution.  

Although President Barack Obama has not taken action as of this writing, it is virtually certain that he will veto the measure. Given the almost-party line plurality of the votes in Congress, it appears that that resolution’s proponents would not muster the two-thirds vote necessary to override any veto.

There are two pending court challenges to the Board’s rule, filed by several business groups; one in federal district court in Washington D.C., and the other in federal court for the Western District of Texas. However, neither court has indicated whether hearings will be held or a decision will be issued before the rules become effective.

Thus, it appears the new rules will go into effect as scheduled.

The NLRB is scheduling outreach events for labor practitioners in the weeks prior to the rules’ effective date. We will monitor and report updates as warranted. In addition, Jackson Lewis will be offering a complimentary webinar about the new rules after April 14, as well as in-person seminars across the country on the rules and other recent NLRB developments.