National Chamber Litigation Center Applauds Ruling Clarifying Supervisor Standard

WASHINGTON, D.C.-A ruling yesterday from the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) helps clarify standards used to determine which employees are supervisors and exempt from collective bargaining, but will not lead to a sea-change in the number of workers with that classification, according to the National Chamber Litigation Center (NCLC).

"The board has given a clear, reasonable, and fair standard employers can apply in determining who is and who is not a supervisor," said NCLC Executive Vice President Stephen Bokat. "However, charges by union officials that this will exclude hundreds of thousands of workers from collective bargaining are unfounded."

The NLRB ruled on a trio of related cases yesterday. In the main case-Oakwood Healthcare, Inc. and International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America, AFL-CIO-the NLRB held that the permanent charge nurses employed by Oakwood Heritage Hospital exercised supervisory authority in assigning employees and therefore are considered supervisors under the National Labor Relations Act.

NCLC filed an amicus brief in three cases analyzing the impact of the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in NLRB v. Kentucky River, in which the high court instructed NLRB to reexamine its rule on who is a supervisor under the National Labor Relations Act. In yesterday's ruling, the NLRB determined only one of the four groups of workers in question should be classified as supervisors.

"While we are pleased with the new standard and with the board's decision reclassifying the 12 nurses at Oakwood Hospital, we are disappointed the board did not find the remaining groups of workers to be supervisors," Bokat stated.

NCLC, the public policy law firm of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, is a membership organization that advocates fair treatment of business in the courts and before regulatory agencies. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is the world's largest business federation representing more than 3 million businesses and organizations of every size, sector, and region.

www.uschamber.com

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