Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) is suing the New York State Public Employment Relations Board (PERB) challenging a new state law that improperly grants PERB jurisdiction over private companies, preempting federal authority.
According to court documents, the online retail giant filed its complaint in the U.S. District Court in Brooklyn, accusing New York of orchestrating an “unconstitutional power grab” by allowing state regulators to override the National Labor Relations Board’s (NLRB) primary role to handle workplace disputes and union organizing.
Senate Bill 8034A was introduced to shield New York workers in response to case backlogs at the NLRB, which has been hampered by the absence of a quorum.
However, Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) is arguing that NY state does not have the right to enforce labor laws that are under the purview of the NLRB.
At issue is the firing of an Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) employee and union vice president at an Amazon warehouse in Staten Island. While the NLRB had begun its own review of the employee’s termination, PERB filed a charge against Amazon (AMZN) under Senate Bill 8034A.
In its complaint, Amazon (AMZN) says the new NY law “flips U.S. labor law on its head: it presumes PERB jurisdiction over every private-sector employee until the NLRB gets a court to hold otherwise…New York has created the collision of state and federal authority Congress sought to avoid.”
Earlier this month, the NLRB sued New York to block enforcement of Senate Bill 8034A.