Chamber Wins Supreme Court Case

 

California employers receiving state funds will have less to worry about when it comes to communicating with their employees about the pros and cons of union organizing due to a recent ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court in a case brought by the U.S. Chamber.

 

The National Chamber Litigation Center (NCLC), the Chamber's public policy law firm, challenged a 2000 California law prohibiting state contractors and other companies that receive money from the state from using those funds "to assist, promote, or deter union organizing."

 

The Supreme Court ruled in Chamber of Commerce of the United States of America, et al. v. Brown, et al. that states may not restrict employers' rights to communicate with their employees about unionization. At least 20 other states have similar laws or have proposed to enact laws that would also restrict employer speech on unionization.

 

"It's simply unethical for a state to use taxpayers' funds to tie the hands of employers in union organizing drives," says Steven Law, chief legal officer and general counsel at the U.S. Chamber. "Not only is it unethical, but the Supreme Court has now declared that it's unlawful under the National Labor Relations Act."

 

The California law would have established a "formidable enforcement scheme," according to the Supreme Court. For example, it would have required employers to maintain separate bank accounts and provide upon request records to show that no state funds were used to assist or deter unionization.

 

To learn more, please go to www.uschamber.com/nclc.