Labor Law

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7^th Circuit Court of Appeals

Case Name: NLRB v. ADT, LLC

Case No.: 22-1483

Officials: Hamilton, St. Eve, and Kirsch, Circuit Judges.

Focus: Labor Law

ADT installs and services security systems. Before 2020, ADT had separate offices in Rockford, Illinois, and Madison, Wisconsin. Since 1994 the Rockford employees have been represented by the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 364.

This case presents an attempt by an employer to avoid its obligations under the National Labor Relations Act, 29 U.S.C. § 151 et seq. Petitioner ADT combined a unionized office with a non-union office and tried unilaterally to withdraw recognition of the union based on a supposed decertification petition not signed by a single member of the bargaining unit. It’s tempting to call the attempt unprecedented, but it is not. ADT tried a nearly identical maneuver in 2008 in Kalamazoo, Michigan. The National Labor Relations Board found unfair labor practices then, and the Sixth Circuit enforced the Board’s order. NLRB v. ADT Security Servs., Inc., 689 F.3d 628 (6th Cir. 2012). This court agrees with their reasoning in that case, and the findings and decision of the Board in this case are supported by substantial evidence; and denies ADT’s petition for review and enforces the Board’s order.

Decided 12/02/22

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