Unions May Demand More Company Financial Information

On the basis of the so-called Nielsen Principle, named for a 1991 NLRB precedent, employers in union negotiations have been able to withhold company financial information from unions except in cases where the employer claims it is unable, rather than merely unwilling, to meet demands. Recent decisions by the NLRB suggest that employers are going to have a harder time invoking that principle, as negotiating language like “We need to remain competitive” gets parsed in a way that undercuts Nielsen-based confidentiality claims.