8th Circuit Notice Ruling

The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals recently denied a petition for review of a National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) order that a union violated the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) by unilaterally delaying the commencement of a strike beyond the time described in a 10-day notice. Minnesota Licensed Practical Nurses Association v. NLRB, 406 F.3d 1020 (8th Cir. 2005), denying petition to review Alexandria Clinic P.A., 339 NLRB 1261 (2003). The court there held that the statutory advance-notice requirement of a strike by unionized health care employees unambiguously precluded unilateral extensions of the commencement of a strike, and that individual nurses lost their protected status by unilaterally delaying commencement of a strike beyond the time described in the 10-day notice. Thus, the employer did not act unlawfully by discharging them for engaging in an unlawful strike.