S. 3117 — Worker RESULTS Act

This section amends the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) to revise National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) representation election procedures, including certification bars, decertification windows, secret ballot requirements, voter turnout quorum, and limits on NLRB authority. Specifically, it (1) amends Section 9(c)(3) to bar elections following union certification until an initial collective bargaining agreement (CBA) is reached (previously, no such bar), except during a 90-day "decertification window" (60 to 150 days after an NLRB finding of union bad-faith bargaining during the initial phase before a first CBA), and after the first CBA, to limit petitions to periods without a CBA in effect or 90-day "window periods" (150 to 60 days before two-year CBA anniversaries, or 180 to 90 days for health care institutions); (2) requires under Section 9(a) that employee representatives be selected by secret ballot in an NLRB-conducted election (previously, could be designated or selected for collective bargaining without specifying secret ballot); (3) establishes under Sections 9(a) and 9(c)(3)(F) a quorum requiring not less than two-thirds of unit employees to vote, with certification based on a majority of those votes (previously, no specified quorum); (4) adds Section 9(c)(6) to eliminate any bar, delay, or postponement of elections due to settlements of unfair labor practice charges; (5) adds Section 9(c)(7) to prohibit the NLRB from dismissing election petitions or imposing bars except as explicitly provided in specified NLRA subsections; and (6) adds Section 8(h) to clarify that informing employees of their new rights under Section 9(c)(3)(B)(ii) or (C) is not an unfair labor practice. (Thus, these changes restrict election timing to protect new CBAs, raise hurdles for union certification and decertification, and prioritize secret ballots while curbing NLRB discretion in private-sector labor representation cases.)