Please be advised that on December 12, 2014, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) issued a controversial final rule overhauling its procedures for union representation elections, commonly known as the "ambush" elections rule. The changes are currently scheduled to take effect on April 14, 2015, unless a court or Congress blocks enforcement of the new rule.

Under the final rule, the amount of time between a union filing a representation petition and an election taking place likely will be dramatically reduced from the current average of 38 days. The NLRB achieved this drastic reduction in time primarily by:

• Combining pre- and post-election appeals
• Truncating pre- and post-hearing procedures (requiring that pre-election hearings begin within eight days and that post-election hearings be held within 14 days of the final tally of votes in the election)
• Limiting the types of issues an employer can raise at a pre-election hearing (determining which employees are considered supervisors, and which employees constitute a potential bargaining "unit" are no longer permitted before the election takes place)
• Reducing the amount of time an employer is allotted to provide a list of eligible voters and increasing the amount of personal information that must be disclosed to unions

Next Steps:

Employers should speak with their labor counsel now about putting in place a rapid response plan for management because they may not get a second chance to prepare for sudden union organizing activity.

ABC has serious legal and practical concerns with the agency's final rule, and we plan to file a legal challenge to the rule in federal court soon. ABC will continue to keep members informed about any legal challenges that deal with procedures for union representation. 

"Given the conflicting court cases over the past few years, we agree with the Supreme Court that the legality of excessive and expensive local prevailing wage schemes needs to be taken under review," said Chris Fisher, ABC of Michigan President. "We believe a strong case will be made that these mandates are illegal, and that the Supreme Court will ultimately rule on the side of Michigan taxpayers."

Prevailing wage mandates create a hodgepodge of wage and benefit classifications and payment schedules that exist only for taxpayer-funded construction. ABC and others have long maintained that these government construction schemes are complicated, costly, and create an administrative burden. A contractor working on a prevailing wage project in Lansing on Monday, a prevailing wage project in Ann Arbor on Tuesday, and a project in Detroit on Wednesday may have to alter his or her pay and benefit package three times in three days. Michigan's construction industry workforce is more highly compensated  than most other vocations in the state, but neither Lansing's nor the state's prevailing wage mandate aligns with these already competitive market rates. A 2013 non-partisan Anderson Economic Group study  found that prevailing wage in the education sector alone cost taxpayers an additional $2.25 billion over the past decade with no corresponding benefit.

"Prevailing wage ordinances, like other wage and benefit issues, are properly under the purview of the state, not the 1,800-plus local units of government that can come up with 1,800 inconsistent sets of rules to navigate. We trust that a consistently applied decision from the Court will settle this confusing issue and bring about a level playing field that encourages growth, opportunity and economic development statewide," noted Fisher.

In January 2015, the Michigan Department of Treasury will begin to process current-year Sales, Use, and

Withholding (SUW) tax returns with a new online system. As a result of this new processing system, there will be changes to the SUW forms and to the way taxpayers can file and make payments for tax year 2015 returns. Click here to download a full explanation of the changes and what is expected from Treasury.

New e-Services
The new bundle of e-services is called Michigan Treasury Online (MTO). SUW taxpayers will have 24/7 access to their accounts, and will be able to file returns and make payments electronically in one transaction.

Highlights of New Online Features 

• Free service, no cost 24/7 access to use online services
• Review and make changes to the account
• Electronically file (e-file) and electronically pay (e-pay) in one transaction
• Update, add, or delete tax types
• Delegate authority (including Payroll Service Providers (PSPs) and Third-Party Administrators (TPAs))

Beginning January 2015, all taxpayers are required to file an actual return regardless of how they pay their SUW taxes and regardless of whether tax is due.