American Backflow & Fire Prevention, Inc. (NLRB)

What happened

American Backflow & Fire Prevention is an unfair labor practice case brought by two plumbing and sprinkler fitter locals against a fire protection and backflow prevention contractor. Administrative Law Judge G. Rebekah Ramirez found violations on February 27, 2025, including a refusal to bargain and withdrawal of union recognition. The company then filed exceptions (the written objections a party files to ask the Board to overturn a judge's findings) with supporting argument.

The exceptions were filed by Cynthia Sauter, whom the record describes as the company's labor relations consultant and lead negotiator and as president and CEO of a labor relations consulting company. She is listed among the company's representatives at the hearing without the designation given to the attorneys. According to the Board, the American Backflow exceptions:

• cited hearing transcript pages that do not exist;
• cited only one page containing actual witness testimony, and that testimony did not support the exceptions;
• cited Board decisions for propositions they do not stand for;
• cited two purported Board decisions that do not exist at all.

The Board wrote that "it appears possible that the document filed by Sauter was at least partially generated by artificial intelligence." It made no finding that AI was used.

What the Board did

A three-member panel issued the American Backflow Decision and Order at 375 NLRB No. 31 on August 25. On the merits it affirmed the judge's findings and adopted her recommended order with modifications, including a bargaining schedule of at least 4 sessions per month, each at least 8 hours long, if the unions request it. It found the exceptions "minimally compliant" with the Board's rules and considered them despite their defects.

On the citations, the Board stated that it is "a foundational duty of practitioners before the Board—regardless of whether the individual is an attorney or a non-attorney representative—to ensure that their submissions do not contain fabricated citations or inaccurate references," and that the duty applies whether or not the filer relies on AI tools. Under Section 102.177(d) and (e)(1) of its Rules and Regulations, it referred the representative's conduct to the Investigating Officer, the Associate General Counsel for the Division of Operations Management, for investigation and any appropriate discipline, and wrote that referral into its order.

The Board also addressed "ghost citations" generally. It noted an earlier instance in Rivas Painting, 374 NLRB No. 30, cited Park v. Kim from the Second Circuit, and said such citations consume limited resources and "invoke the authority of the Board for propositions that it did not endorse."

Where it stands

The American Backflow decision, issued in Cases 13-CA-285856, 13-CA-296614, 13-CA-305278 and 13-CA-313981, is subject to formal revision before publication in the bound volumes. The Investigating Officer's review, and any discipline under Section 102.177, were not located as of October 30. Whether the company has petitioned a court of appeals for review of the merits order was also not located. That order requires the company, among other things, to bargain with the unions, offer employment to one applicant and read a notice to employees.

The obligation it engaged

American Backflow engages Clause 3 of the Standard, independent authority, in two forms. Citations to authority, the Board decisions, were not confirmed against the reported decisions. Citations to the record, the transcript pages, were not confirmed against the transcript itself. The second form is the one closest to expert work, because expert reports cite deposition pages, exhibit numbers and production ranges far more often than case law.

The decision also shows that the duty does not depend on a law license. The Board applied it to any representative appearing before it, which is the position an expert occupies: a professional whose submissions a tribunal relies on whether or not the author is a lawyer. Clause 4, checkability before adoption, supplies the method. A record citation drafted with any assistance should be opened and read at the cited page before the document is signed. That is the check a competent examiner working only from the primary sources would perform.

Sources

• National Labor Relations Board · August 25, 2026
  American Backflow & Fire Prevention, Inc., 375 NLRB No. 31, Decision and Order
• National Labor Relations Board, Division of Judges · February 27, 2025
  American Backflow & Fire Prevention, Inc., JD-15-25, Administrative Law Judge decision

What could not be confirmed

The Board did not find that AI was used; it said AI involvement appeared possible. The decision does not expressly state whether the representative is an attorney; she is described as a labor relations consultant and listed without the Esq. designation given to the company's attorneys. The Investigating Officer's findings, any discipline, and any petition for court review were not located as of October 30, 2026.