In addition to lobbying for good economic policy on Capitol Hill, NFIB was busy fighting governmental overreach in the courts in 2016. Here are some of our key victories.
Spokeo Inc. v. Robins: protection against lawsuit abuse
The Court ruled 6-2 that individuals cannot bring a lawsuit against a business without demonstrating that they’ve been injured. Prior to this decision, lower courts had allowed lawsuits to proceed without concrete proof of injury.
CRST Van Expedited Inc. v. EEOC: safeguards against legal action
The Court ruled 8-0 that the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission must face financial liabilities for failure to investigate fully and pursue conciliation (out-of-court dispute resolution) before suing an employer.
Army v. Hawkes: security for property owners
NFIB Small Business Legal Center helped clarify the standard for when a governmental agency is subject to judicial review for asserting regulatory authority over a business. The Court ruled 8-0 that a governmental agency’s “final jurisdictional determination” is subject to judicial review under the Administrative Procedure Act.
2017 Preview
In 2017, NFIB is focusing on cases moving through the courts that concern the following rules:
- Department of Labor overtime rule: Raises salary floor for exempt employees. In November 2016, a federal district court issued a preliminary injunction, temporarily blocking the rule from taking effect while NFIB’s case against it proceeds in the courts.
- Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s union walk-around rule: Allows non-employee union representatives to accompany OSHA inspectors during inspections of union and non-union businesses.
- Clean Power Plan rule: Forces states to eliminate coal power plants.
- Waters of the U.S. rule: Expands EPA jurisdiction.
Visit NFIB.com/Legal to stay updated on our efforts and to donate to the NFIB Small Business Legal Center.
