Sanderson Farms has sued the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), saying it overstepped its authority by pursuing unfair labor practice charges against the company despite the fact that the labor union that filed the complaint tried to withdraw it. Sanderson Farms’ suit against the NLRB was filed on August 11.
Sanderson Farms claims the NLRB is being unreasonable by continuing to investigate and pursue unfair labor practices charges that Local 693 Laborers International Union of North America AFL-CIO filed between 2011 and 2013. The union made those charges on behalf of eight employees at Sanderson’s plants in the Mississippi communities of Collins and Hazlehurst, Law360 reported.
The poultry company asserts the NLRB still hasn’t accepted the union’s attempt to have the charges withdrawn, and by continuing to investigate the NLRB is violating the Administrative Procedure Act.
“The NLRB is prosecuting these charges without the consent and, until recently, the knowledge of seven of the employees and former employees named in the charges, without a justifiable claim for another former employee named in the charges and contrary to Local 693’s request to withdraw its charges,” the complaint stated. “The NLRB is prosecuting these charges and has violated its duty of neutrality by attempting to convince Local 693 to maintain the charges.”
The suit names as defendants the NLRB and Kathleen McKinney, the NLRB’s regional director for Region 15, which covers all or parts of Louisiana, Arkansas, Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee, Florida, and Missouri.
The case is Sanderson Farms Inc. et al. v. National Labor Relations Board et al., case number 2:14-cv-00126. It was filed the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi.
