WASHINGTON (LN) — The National Labor Relations Board filed suit against the State of New York on September 12, asking a federal court to strike down a freshly signed state law that hands Albany authority over private-sector union elections and unfair labor practice investigations — powers the agency says belong exclusively to Washington under the National Labor Relations Act.
The target is S.8034A, which Hochul signed on September 5. The law amends the State Labor Relations Act and empowers the New York Public Employment Relations Board — an agency that has historically overseen public-sector workers — to run union elections and resolve unfair labor practice charges in the private sector.
The NLRB says that is preempted by federal law. Acting General Counsel William B. Cowen, who authorized the lawsuit under a delegation of authority necessitated by the absence of a Board quorum, argued the law cannot be squared with the Supremacy Clause.
"While we respect the important role states play in protecting businesses and workers in other areas, the NLRB has exclusive jurisdiction over unfair labor practices in the private sector; legislation like this cannot be reconciled with the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution," Cowen said in the agency's announcement.
Cowen had telegraphed the legal theory weeks earlier. An August 15 press release from his office laid out the preemption argument before Hochul signed the bill, warning that state legislation of this kind conflicts with the federal framework the NLRA has maintained since 1935.
The agency did not mince words about the practical consequences of letting the law stand. Cowen said attempts to create parallel state labor regimes "only create confusion, waste employees' time, delay the ultimate resolution of labor disputes, and drive up costs for businesses, which in turn will divert resources that may otherwise be used to invest in their employees or create new jobs."
The lawsuit arrives at an unusual moment for the NLRB. The agency is currently operating without a Board quorum, and Cowen is exercising delegated authority to keep its core functions — processing representation petitions and investigating unfair labor practice charges — running in the interim.
The agency framed the suit as a defense of a regulatory structure nearly a century old. "Thus, however well-meaning, misguided legislation such as S.8034A will ultimately undermine the national framework for protecting employees' rights that has been in place for ninety years," the press release states.
The docket number and presiding judge were not identified in the agency's announcement.