NESTLÉ V. NLRB

​​Issue: Labor/Employment
Court: U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit

RLC's Position:
The RLC filed an amicus brief in the Fourth Circuit asking the court to reverse the National Labor Relations Board’s "overwhelming community of interest” standard that the Board adopted in Specialty Healthcare and used in this case conclude that a small subset of employees in the employer’s manufacturing plant constituted an acceptable bargaining unit. The Specialty Healthcare standard is unlawful and results in microunions that hamper effective customer service and interfere with employee opportunities, especially in the retail environment. 

Case Outcome:
The Fourth Circuit concluded that the NLRB did not violate the NLRA or abuse its discretion in certifying the maintenance-only unit. The court denied Nestlé's petition for review and granted the Board's cross-petition for enforcement of its order.

Procedural History and Case Documents:

• Petition for review filed January 2015.
• Nestle Reply Brief filed February 2015
• Union's Intervenor Brief filed February 2015
• Oral argument October 2015
• Fourth Circuit's Decision April 2016

Please use the DOWNLOAD button below to access the RLC's Brief.