New York District Court Enjoins Enforcement Of Law Limiting Employer Speech During Organizing Campaigns

• Published date: 13 March 2024
• Law Firm: Littler Mendelson
• Author: Mr Samuel Wiles and Maura Mastrony

A federal judge in New York recently cast doubt on the validity of state laws that seek to restrict employer speech in connection with union organizing. In New York State Vegetable Growers Association, Inc. v. Letitia James, a trade group and five New York farms sought to enjoin enforcement of a 2020 amendment to the State Employment Relations Act (SERA), enacted as part of the Farm Laborers Fair Labor Practices Act. The plaintiffs claimed, among other things, that one of the amendments violated the First Amendment of the United States Constitution.

The amendment at issue, SERA '704-b(2)(c) (the "Amendment"), makes it unlawful for agricultural employers to "discourage union organization or to discourage an employee from participating in a union organizing drive, engaging in protected concerted activity, or otherwise exercising the rights guaranteed under this article."¹ The court enjoined the law, finding that plaintiffs had demonstrated a likelihood of success on the merits of their constitutional challenge and that an injunction would be in the public interest.²

The plaintiffs argued that the Amendment, as written...