YAPP USA Automotive Systems, Inc. v. National Labor Relations Board

YAPP USA Automotive Systems, Inc. (YAPP) (plaintiff) designed and manufactured automobile fuel systems. In 2023, employees at a Michigan YAPP facility initiated a campaign to elect United Auto Workers Local 174 as their union representative. During the campaign, employee Jesse Dowling was terminated. Believing the termination arose from Dowling’s union-organizing activities, Local 174 filed an unfair-labor charge with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) (defendant). At the campaign’s conclusion, the employees voted against electing Local 174 as their representative. Local 174 then filed a second charge with the NLRB, accusing YAPP of various unfair labor practices in connection with the election. The NLRB regional director consolidated the cases against YAPP and issued an amended complaint that accused YAPP of violating the National Labor Relations Act by terminating an employee for involvement in protected activities, using threats and coercion to interfere with employees’ rights, and refusing to bargain with the union. The director included a request for Thryv remedies, which were essentially damages to “make whole” employees who had suffered direct or foreseeable monetary harm because of YAPP’s unlawful conduct. YAPP filed suit in federal district court, seeking a preliminary injunction preventing the NLRB administrative proceeding from progressing. YAPP argued, among other things, that awarding Thryv remedies via an administrative proceeding would violate YAPP’s Seventh Amendment right to a jury trial. The district court considered YAPP’s argument.