Kenneth Dolin Published in National Law Journal "Battista Board's Legacy"

Kenneth Dolin was published in the July 07, 2008 issue of National Law Journal. In his article, Ken examined the battista board era, which occurred during Robert J. Battista’s reign as Chairman of the National Labor Relations Board. Ken noted, “The Battista board… returned to pre-Clinton-era board precedent in many areas. During its tenure, the Clinton-era board reversed more than 40 board precedents, and the Battista board in many cases simply returned board law to pre-Clinton-era board precedent.”

Ken explained, “…[t]he Battista board swung the legal pendulum back toward management in the following areas: more often finding that an employer has rebutted the appropriateness of a petitioned-for single location unit; limiting ‘protected’ activity/expanding unprotected activity; limiting the relevance of information requested by labor unions; limiting the findings of surface bargaining and unlawful unilateral charges; permitting the employer's use of the lockout weapon in more circumstances; limiting the employer's back-pay liability in certain circumstances; and limiting the use of mandatory bargaining orders as a substitute for rerun elections.”

In conclusion, Ken felt that although the Battista board returned to pre-Clinton board precedent in many areas, they followed the guidance of the U.S. Supreme Court and circuit courts in areas where the Clinton-era board was criticized and they attempted to fashion reasonable rules to deal with new situations that prior boards did not confront.