NLRB Holds Dues Continue Beyond Contract's Expiration

• Published date: 06 October 2022
• Subject Matter: Employment and HR, Employee Rights/ Labour Relations
• Law Firm: Littler Mendelson
• Author: Christopher Henderson

For those that closely follow the National Labor Relations Board, it comes as no surprise that the current Biden Board overruled a decision previously issued by the Trump Board. The target this time: union dues. The NLRB held on October 3 that the employer's obligation to deduct union dues from an employee's wages and remit to the union under a collective bargaining agreement, must continue after the expiration of that collective bargaining agreement. This decision in Valley Hospital Medical Center, Inc. d/b/a Valley Hospital Medical Center and Local Joint Executive Board of Las Vegas overruled a 2019 case of the same name that gave employers the right to stop collecting union dues after the expiration of the collective bargaining agreement containing that requirement. This action is another reversal of longstanding precedent.

The Law As It Once Was

As a general matter, the employer's duty to bargain with the exclusive bargaining agent of employees pursuant to Section 8(d) of the National Labor Relations Act prohibits the employer from unilaterally changing the terms and conditions of employment without first bargaining with the union. NLRB v. Katz, 369 U.S. 736 (1962). As with any law, there are exceptions, which the Board has previously recognized. One such exception was that certain provisions of an expired collective...