Resolution in Oppostion to Frivolous Complaints and Permit Extortion Exposed

The Resolution in Opposition to Frivolous Complaints and Permit Extortion is listed under ALEC's Commerce, Insurance and Economic Development Task Force and was included in ALEC's 1996 Sourcebook of American State Legislation. According to ALEC.org, the Resolution was approved by the ALEC Board of Directors in January, 1996, and re-approved on January 28, 2013. (Accessed on 7/16/2015).

ALEC Bill Text

Summary

The Resolution in Opposition to Frivolous Complaints and Permit Extortion recognizes that some unions have engaged in questionable pressure tactics to put open shop companies out of business or force them to join a union. These harassment and intimidation tactics have come in the form of frivolous and unwarranted complaints and environmental permit delays that are contrary to good public policy. This Resolution urges governments at all levels to enforce appropriate laws and to pass legislation to deter such tactics. The costs associated with defending frivolous complaints in legal and administrative actions have literally put some companies out of business. In the construction trades, such tactics can cause major delays, which can impose millions of dollars in additional costs. Often, when open shops concede to union demands, the complaints mysteriously disappear.

Model Resolution

WHEREAS, regulatory agencies' limited resources are being squandered for harassment purposes, in pursuit of non-life threatening complaints against employers; and

WHEREAS, complaints about Hazard Communication Standards (record keeping) and many other classifications that are "non-serious" violations have become a useful tool to harass employers by escalating the citation to "wilful," "repeat," or "egregious" and thus increase the penalty exposure exponentially; and

WHEREAS, regulators should focus on leading hazards, and should not subject "non-serious" violations to reclassification and/or multiple fines; and

WHEREAS, it is a criminal act to knowingly file a false claim with the NLRB, although the NLRB virtually never prosecutes; and

WHEREAS, it does not cost harassing parties anything to file frivolous claims, whereas companies are often subjected to large attorney fees to defend such claims;

NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the State/Commonwealth of (insert state) affirms the principle that harassment and intimidation tactics in the form of frivolous and unwarranted complaints and environmental permit delays are contrary to good public policy and urges governments at all levels to enforce current mechanisms and to pass legislation to deter such tactics.

1996 Sourcebook of American State Legislation