CONSTELLATION BRANDS V. NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD

Issue: Labor
Court: U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit

RLC's Position:
The RLC joined an amici brief challenging the National Labor Relations Board’s (Board’s) application of its Specialty Healthcare rule to create a “microunion” composed of a subset of employees for collective bargaining purposes. The Board’s disruptive application of the Specialty Healthcare rule in the retail industry is currently being litigated in other cases. A favorable ruling in Constellation Brands could help the challenges of the rule’s application in the retail context. 

Case Outcome: 
The Second Circuit held that the Specialty Healthcare framework was valid, but that the NLRB did not properly apply Specialty Healthcare in its decision and order against Constellation Brands. The panel concluded that in approving the petitioned‐for collective bargaining unit, the Board did not analyze at step in its application of Specialty Healthcare whether the excluded employees had meaningfully distinct interests from members of the petitioned‐for unit in the context of collective bargaining that outweigh similarities with unit members.

Procedural History and Case Documents:

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