by Robert S. Teachout, SHRM-SCP, Brightmine Legal Editor
A federal district court has temporarily blocked the New York law allowing the state Public Employee Relations Board (PERB) to assert jurisdiction over private sector labor issues. The ruling prevents potential conflicts between federal and state-level decisions.
The court issued a preliminary injunction barring enforcement of a recent amendment to the New York Labor Relations Act. The amendment grants the PERB authority to assert jurisdiction over union election certifications and unfair labor practice charges in the private sector if the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) does not successfully assert jurisdiction pursuant to a federal court order.
Amazon requested the injunction to prevent the PERB from hearing a case concerning the firing of a local union vice president at its warehouse in Staten Island, Amazon’s only unionized US facility.
The state asserted that the amendment was necessary because the NLRB has been unable to fully perform key functions – such as issuing decisions, certifying elections or promulgating regulations – since the loss of a quorum in January.
The court’s November 26 ruling held that the law is likely preempted by the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), under which the NLRB has exclusive jurisdiction over most private-sector labor disputes. The court also found that Amazon would likely suffer irreparable harm absent an injunction because of conflicts in rulings by the PERB and NLRB on similar issues.
The NLRB also filed a lawsuit to protect its jurisdiction in New York, as well as another in California, which passed a similar law. Both cases remain pending.
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About the author
Robert S. Teachout, SHRM-SCP
Legal Editor, Brightmine
Robert Teachout has more than 30 years’ experience in legal publishing covering employment laws on the state and federal level. At Brightmine, he covers labor relations, performance appraisals and promotions, succession and workforce planning, HR professional development and employment contracts. He often writes on the intersection of compliance with HR strategy and practice.
Before joining Brightmine, Robert was a senior HR editor at Thompson Information Services, covering FMLA, ADA, EEO issues and federal and state leave laws. Prior to that he was the primary editor of Bloomberg BNA’s State Labor Laws binders and was the principal writer and editor of the State Wage Assignment and Garnishment Handbook. Robert also served as a union unit leader and shop steward in the Washington-Baltimore Newspaper Guild of the Communications Workers of America. Actively involved in the HR profession, Robert is a member of SHRM at both the national and local levels, and gives back to the profession by serving as the communications vice president on the board of his local chapter.
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