Last week, House and Senate Republicans announced the introduction of legislation intended to counter the National Labor Relations Board’s (NLRB) controversial “ambush election rule.”

The NLRB’s proposed rule, which was re-issued on February 5, 2014, would significantly reduce the time in which a union election can take place after the filing of an election petition. Under the proposed rule, elections could take place in as few as 10 days after the filing of a petition. This would constitute a significant change in the timing of union elections as they currently take place under the existing regulations.

Many employers oppose the proposed ambush election rule and believe that it undermines the rights of both workers and employers. Congressional Republicans have introduced two bills aimed at changing the proposed rule. The Workforce Democracy and Fairness Act (H.R. 4320) requires at least a 35-day window between the filing of an election petition and the union election. This bill would preserve an employer’s ability to litigate challenges to the petition and proposed unit in pre-election hearings and would provide the NLRB adequate time to rule on any outstanding issues. The Employee Privacy Protection Act (H.R. 4321) would enable employees to choose in writing what type of personal contact information the employer is required to provide to the union after the processing of a representation petition. This package of legislation would nullify the NLRB's proposed ambush election rule.