timelines to ensure that no deadlines are missed or defenses waived—time is of the essence. This will be particularly important given the Board’s changes in Cemex to how employers must respond to requests for recognition.Finally, in addition to greatly reducing the length of time between the filing of the petition and the election, the accelerated timelines reimplemented in the Final Rule effectively limit an employer’s opportunities for lawful campaign speech during the pre-election period.Combined with other limitations on employer speech that the NLRB’s General Counsel is pursuing, as well as the risk that the Board has created for employer campaigns in Cemex (which shifts the burden to employers to file the petition and imposes a default bargaining order for any unfair labor practices committed during an election), it is important for employers to thoughtfully prepare for campaigns so that they are ready to hit the ground running.Representation-Case Procedures, Direct Final Rule, 88 Fed. Reg. 58,076 (Aug. 25, 2023) (to be codified at 29 C.F.R. pt. 102).[View source.]