Two weeks ago, TCSA Legal shared the exciting news of a major victory for Texas charter schools. In the March 15th decision from National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), the board upheld a June 2017 Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) decision dismissing a concerted activity claim by a former employee of Universal Academy on the grounds that the NLRB does not have jurisdiction over Texas public charter schools under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). Click here to read the complete NLRB decision.
Thursday morning, a three-judge panel of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals heard arguments in the Louisiana charter school NLRA case (Voices for Int’l Bus. and Educ., Inc. v. NLRB, No. 17-60364). This is an important case regarding the applicability of the NLRA to charter schools within the Fifth Circuit, and the outcome may affect jurisdictions nationwide. Tommy Fuller of the Fuller Law Group, filed an Amicus Curiae brief on behalf of TCSA and the Louisiana Association of Public Charter Schools (LAPCS) in support of the Louisiana charter school’s claims and arguing that Louisiana public charter schools are political subdivisions for purposes of the NLRA and should be exempt from the NLRB’s jurisdiction. In light of the favorable decision in the Texas Universal Academy NLRB case, TCSA and LAPCS filed a supplemental brief to its Amicus Curiae to further persuade the court that like Texas, Louisiana public charter schools should be exempted from the NLRB’s jurisdiction. The audio recording of the oral arguments will be available on the Court’s website.
We have high hopes that the Fifth Circuit will rule, like the NLRB did in the Texas case, in favor of exempting Louisiana public charter schools from the NLRB’s jurisdiction and a consistent standard for all charter schools will be applied across the Fifth Circuit. Stay tuned as we expect a decision issued in the next few months.
As with all legal matters concerning Texas charter schools, do not hesitate to contact TCSA Legal for more details on the case and this important issue.
