HR Policy Association Weighs in on NLRB Injunctive Relief with the Supreme Court

HR Policy Association Weighs in on NLRB Injunctive 
Relief with the Supreme Court

Large Employers Request Consistency, Clarity, and Rigor in 10(j) Injunction Cases

WASHINGTON, D.C. – HR Policy Association, representing chief human resource officers of more than 400 of the largest employers in the United States, submitted an amicus brief along with other business groups, to the Supreme Court of the United States in Starbucks v. McKinney. 

Collectively, HR Policy Association member companies employ more than ten million employees in the United States, nearly nine percent of the private sector workforce. Since its founding, one of the Association’s principal missions has been to ensure that laws and policies affecting human resources are sound, practical, and responsive to labor and employment issues arising in the workplace.

Starbucks v. McKinney involves the standard used for evaluating whether the NLRB can obtain a preliminary injunction on behalf of plaintiffs in extraordinary unfair labor practice cases. Generally, injunctive relief in NLRB cases (known as 10(j) injunctions) is awarded only in extraordinary cases where the plaintiff can demonstrate a clear likelihood of success on the merits of their claim and where the relief is necessary to avoid irreparable harm, among other considerations. 

Currently, however, several circuit courts of appeal use a more lenient standard for awarding such relief, which can have significant ramifications for employers. As HRPA’s brief indicates, Section 10(j) injunctions “can compel or constrain a broad range of business activity,” including blocking sales, closure, or relocation of business facilities. Such consequences necessitate a rigorous test before these types of actions can be compelled by a court before the full issues of the case are litigated. 

Accordingly, HRPA filed a brief in support of Starbucks to (1) resolve a split amongst courts of appeals regarding the proper standard to apply to requests for 10(j) injunctions, ensuring consistency and clarity for all stakeholders, and (2) to ensure that the standard applies is sufficiently rigorous given the potential consequences of such relief, historical precedent regarding injunctive relief in general, and the original intent of Congress in including 10(j) injunctions in the National Labor Relations Act. These considerations are of further importance given the current Board and its General Counsel’s increased usage of 10(j) injunctions, which historically have been limited to only the most extraordinary of cases.

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Read the Amicus brief here.

HR Policy Association is the lead organization representing chief human resource officers of major employers. The Association consists of more than 400 of the largest corporations doing business in the United States and globally, and these employers are represented in the organization by their most senior human resource executive. Collectively, their companies employ more than 11 million employees in the United States, over nine percent of the private sector workforce, and 20 million employees worldwide.  They have a combined market capitalization of more than $8 trillion. These senior corporate officers participate in the Association because of their commitment to improving the direction of human resource policy. Their objective is to use the combined power of the membership to act as a positive influence 
 to better public policy, the HR marketplace, and the human resource profession. For more information visit www.hrpolicy.org.