Hospital Menonita de Guayama, Inc. v. NLRB
Split Score
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Case Summary
Disposition
Reversed
The case addresses whether the NLRB’s "successor bar" rule—requiring a new owner of a business to bargain with an incumbent union for up to one year regardless of employee support—comports with the National Labor Relations Act after the Supreme Court’s decision in Loper Bright. The 12th Circuit, applying de novo review, ruled that the successor bar is inconsistent with Sections 7 and 9 of the NLRA and therefore reversed the Board’s order against the Hospital.
Circuit Split Identified
Legal Issue
Whether the National Labor Relations Board has statutory authority under the National Labor Relations Act to impose the irrebuttable one-year "successor bar," which compels a successor employer to recognize and bargain with an incumbent union even if the union lacks majority employee support.
Circuit Positions
Successor bar is within the NLRB’s statutory authority; courts should uphold it as a reasonable labor-policy determination.
Successor bar violates Sections 7 and 9 of the NLRA and exceeds the NLRB’s delegated authority; courts must reject it on de novo review.
Conflict Summary
The First Circuit held that the successor bar is a reasonable exercise of the NLRB’s policymaking discretion and therefore valid, whereas the 12th Circuit (in this opinion) held that the successor bar contravenes Sections 7 and 9 of the NLRA and is beyond the Board’s authority after Loper Bright’s rejection of Chevron-style deference.