NFIB has joined an amicus brief in the case of Amazon.com Services, LLC v. National Labor Relations Board at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. The case involves a decision by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) that considers employers who discuss unionization at mandatory workplace meetings to be in violation of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). NFIB's brief questions whether this ban is constitutional, arguing it restricts speech based on viewpoint rather than conduct. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Associated Builders and Contractors, the Coalition for a Democratic Workplace, and the National Retail Federation have also filed the brief.
Beth Milito, Vice President and Executive Director of NFIB’s Small Business Legal Center, stated: “The NLRB’s decision to ban mandatory meetings based on the message of the speaker is inherently discriminatory and will subject small business owners to federal penalties for simply expressing themselves in their own business." She added that "the NLRB’s argument goes against decades of precedent to justify its pro-union goals," urging the court to reject this decision as unconstitutional.
The brief from NFIB presents two main arguments: first, that the NLRB's decision misinterprets U.S. Supreme Court rulings regarding unwilling listeners; second, that it regulates speech rather than conduct because enforcement focuses on ideas communicated rather than actions taken.
NFIB has been active in defending employer free speech from both federal and state government encroachments. They are currently challenging a Minnesota law with similar restrictions on employer free speech within workplaces.
The NFIB Small Business Legal Center works to protect small business owners' rights in courts nationwide. Currently, NFIB is involved in over 40 cases across federal and state courts as well as at the U.S. Supreme Court.
