Labor relations

Scope

Labor relations impacts relationships between employers and employees.

Regulatory citations

• None

Key definitions

• None

Summary of requirements

Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBAs) are agreements between employers and representatives of their employees (e.g., unions) which address the wages, hours, and other conditions of employment. An employee, or a union on behalf of an employee, may not waive rights under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) by agreement or contract, including what hours must be counted as hours worked.

Office of labor-management standards. The Office of Labor-Management Standards (OLMS) of the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employment Standards Administration administers and enforces most provisions of the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959 (LMRDA). The LMRDA was enacted primarily to ensure basic standards of democracy and fiscal responsibility in labor organizations representing employees in private industry. Unions representing U.S. Postal Service employees became subject to the LMRDA with the passage of the Postal Reorganization Act of 1970. The LMRDA establishes:

• A Bill of Rights for union members;
• Requirements for reporting and disclosure of financial information and administrative practices by labor unions;
• Requirements for reporting and disclosure by employers, labor relations consultants, union officers and employees, and surety companies, when they engage in certain activities;
• Rules for establishing and maintaining trusteeships;
• Standards for conducting fair elections of union officers; and
• Safeguards for protecting union funds and assets.

OLMS conducts both civil and criminal investigations of alleged violations of the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act (LMRDA) and related laws. These investigations by OLMS District Offices involve issues such as embezzlements of union funds, union officer elections, the filing of required reports by unions and others with OLMS, and the imposition of trusteeships over subordinate unions by a parent body. These investigations may result in legal enforcement actions.

OLMS also administers provisions of the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978 and the Foreign Service Act of 1980 relating to standards of conduct for Federal employee unions, which are comparable to LMRDA requirements. OLMS does not have jurisdiction over unions representing solely state, county, or municipal employees.

Transit employee protections. When Federal funds are used to acquire, improve, or operate a transit system, Federal law requires arrangements to protect the rights of affected mass transit employees. The OLMS Division of Statutory Programs ensures that fair and equitable arrangements are in place before the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Transit Administration (FTA) can release funds to grantees. The terms and conditions of the protective arrangements are included in the grantee’s contract with FTA.

NLRB. The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) is an independent federal agency created by Congress in 1935 to administer the National Labor Relations Act, the primary law governing relations between unions and employers in the private sector. The statute guarantees the right of employees to organize and to bargain collectively with their employers or to refrain from all such activity. Generally applying to all employers involved in interstate commerce—other than airlines, railroads, agriculture, and government—the Act implements the national labor policy of assuring free choice and encouraging collective bargaining as a means of maintaining industrial peace. Through the years, Congress has amended the Act and the Board and courts have developed a body of law drawn from the statute.

In its statutory assignment, the NLRB has two principal functions:

• To determine, through secret ballot elections, the free democratic choice by employees whether they wish to be represented by a union in dealing with their employers and if so, by which union; and
• To prevent and remedy unlawful acts, called unfair labor practices, by either employers or unions.

The agency does not act on its own motion in either function. It processes only those charges of unfair labor practices and petitions for employee elections that are filed with the NLRB in one of its 52 Regional, Subregional, or Resident Offices.

NLRB’s structure. The agency has two major, separate components. The Board itself has five members and primarily acts as a quasi-judicial body in deciding cases on the basis of formal records in administrative proceedings. Board Members are appointed by the President to 5-year terms, with Senate consent, the term of one Member expiring each year. The General Counsel, appointed by the President to a 4-year term with Senate consent, is independent from the Board and is responsible for the investigation and prosecution of unfair labor practice cases and for the general supervision of the NLRB field offices in the processing of cases. Each Regional Office is headed by a Regional Director who is responsible for making the initial determination in cases arising within the geographical area served by the region.

Unfair labor practice processing. When an unfair labor practice charge is filed, the appropriate field office conducts an investigation to determine whether there is reasonable cause to believe the Act has been violated.

• If the Regional Director determines that the charge lacks merit, it will be dismissed unless the charging party decides to withdraw the charge. A dismissal may be appealed to the General Counsel’s office in Washington, D.C.
• If the Regional Director finds reasonable cause to believe a violation of the law has been committed, the region seeks a voluntary settlement to remedy the alleged violations. If these settlement efforts fail, a formal complaint is issued and the case goes to hearing before an NLRB Administrative Law Judge. The judge issues a written decision that may be appealed to the five-Member Board in Washington for a final agency determination. The Board’s decision is subject to review in a U.S. Court of Appeals.

Depending upon the nature of the case, the General Counsel’s goal is to complete investigations and, where further proceedings are warranted, issue complaints if settlement is not reached within 7 to 15 weeks from the filing of the charge. Of the total charges filed each year [about 35,000], approximately one-third are found to have merit of which over 90 percent are settled.

Injunctive relief. Section 10(j) of the National Labor Relations Act empowers the NLRB to petition a federal district court for an injunction to temporarily prevent unfair labor practices by employers or unions and to restore the status quo, pending the full review of the case by the Board. In enacting this provision, Congress was concerned that delays inherent in the administrative processing of unfair labor practice charges, in certain instances, would frustrate the Act’s remedial objectives. In determining whether the use of Section 10(j) is appropriate in a particular case, the principal question is whether injunctive relief is necessary to preserve the Board’s ability to effectively remedy the unfair labor practice alleged, and whether the alleged violator would otherwise reap the benefits of its violation.

Under NLRB procedures, after deciding to issue an unfair labor practice complaint, the General Counsel may request authorization from the Board to seek injunctive relief. The Board votes on the General Counsel’s request and, if a majority votes to authorize injunctive proceedings, the General Counsel, through Regional staff, files the case with an appropriate Federal district court.

In addition, Section 10(l) of the Act requires the Board to seek a temporary federal court injunction against certain forms of union misconduct, principally involving “secondary boycotts” and “recognitional picketing.” Finally, under Section 10(e) , the Board may ask a federal court of appeals to enjoin conduct that the Board has found to be unlawful.