Addressing a dispute that began 20 years ago, the National Labor Relations
Board has issued a new standard for determining when employer legal action
challenging union campaign tactics is lawful. Following a long trail
of litigation, including a Supreme Court decision in 2002, in BE&K
Construction Co., 351 N.L.R.B. No. 29 (Sept. 29, 2007), the Labor
Board has held that "the filing and maintenance of a reasonably based
lawsuit does not violate the [NLRA], regardless of whether the lawsuit is
ongoing or completed, and regardless of the motive for initiating the
lawsuit." This ruling may provide employers with additional
tools for pushing back against union corporate campaign tactics through
reasonably based legal recourse, such as allegations of labor law and
antitrust violations, even if ultimately unsuccessful.
