On January 30, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals will hear oral arguments in the Liberty Justice Center’s legal challenge to a coercive and threatening public memo issued by Jennifer Abruzzo, General Counsel for the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). The memo threatens employers with prosecution of unfair labor practices when they discuss union membership with their employees in mandatory meetings—an act that not only violates employers’ constitutional right to free speech, but also exceeds Abruzzo’s limited statutory authority.
In tomorrow’s hearing, Liberty Justice Center Senior Counsel Buck Dougherty will urge the Court to reverse a lower court’s prior ruling dismissing the lawsuit and to issue an order requiring Abruzzo to take down the threatening public memo.
WHO: Buck Dougherty, Senior Counsel at the Liberty Justice Center
WHEN: 8:30 a.m. EST, Thursday, January 30, 2025
WHERE: Potter Stewart Courthouse
6th Floor West Courtroom
100 E 5th Street
Cincinnati, OH 45202
HOW: Livestreamed audio of the hearing will be available on the Court’s website here.
The courtroom will also be open to the press and public. For questions about media access, contact the Clerk’s Office at (513) 564-7000.
ISSUE BACKGROUND: Shortly after taking office, NLRB General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo issued a memo announcing that the NLRB will now consider it illegal for employers to talk to employees about unions at mandatory meetings—a violation of employers’ free speech rights under the First Amendment and the National Labor Relations Act.
The Liberty Justice Center filed a lawsuit to challenge Abruzzo’s coercive memo in March 2023, representing the Associated Builders and Contractors of Michigan.
A lower court initially dismissed the lawsuit, holding that the plaintiff lacked standing because Abruzzo had not yet used the memo to press charges against them. However, the Liberty Justice Center appealed the lower court’s decision to the Sixth Circuit Court, arguing that its client had standing to challenge Abruzzo’s First Amendment violation on behalf of its employer members because the memo actively chills employers’ speech, coercing them to self-censor to avoid prosecution and punishment from the NLRB.
The Liberty Justice Center’s legal challenge also argues that Abruzzo is illegally using the public memo as a “jawboning” tactic to attract unions to file charges against employers, creating a legal vehicle for her to prosecute employers who talk to their employees about unions at mandatory meetings and thus tip the scale in favor of unions.
The Sixth Circuit Court granted the Liberty Justice Center’s request for oral argument on November 25, 2024, scheduling a full hearing to consider the case on January 30.
The Liberty Justice Center’s legal filings in ABC Michigan v. Abruzzo are available here.