Which of the following acts created the national labor relations board (nlrb)?

The National Labor Relations Board is an independent federal agency created by Congress in 1935 to administer the National Labor Relations Act, the primary law governing labor relations. Grantees will find this information regarding NLRA violations useful when dealing with employees and unions.

The National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) forbids employers from interfering with, restraining, or coercing employees in the exercise of rights relating to organizing, forming, joining or assisting a labor organization or assisting a labor organization for collective-bargaining purposes, or engaging in protected concerted activities, or refraining from any such activity. Similarly, labor organizations may not restrain or coerce employees in the exercise of these rights.

Examples of Employer Conduct Which Violate the NLRA Are:

• Threatening employees with loss of jobs or benefits if they join or vote for a union or engage in protected concerted activity.
• Threatening to close the plant if employees select a union to represent them.
• Questioning employees about their union sympathies or activities in circumstances that tend to interfere with, restrain or coerce employees in the exercise of their rights under the Act.
• Promising benefits to employees to discourage their union support.
• Transferring, laying off, terminating, assigning employees more difficult work tasks, or otherwise punishing employees because they engaged in union or protected concerted activity.
• Transferring, laying off, terminating, assigning employees more difficult work tasks, or otherwise punishing employees because they filed unfair labor practice charges or participated in an investigation conducted by NLRB.

Examples of Labor Organization Conduct Which Violate the NLRA Are:

• Threats to employees that they will lose their jobs unless they support the union.
• Seeking the suspension, discharge or other punishment of an employee for not being a union member even if the employee has paid or offered to pay a lawful initiation fee and periodic fees thereafter.
• Refusing to process a grievance because an employee has criticized union officials or because an employee is not a member of the union in states where union security clauses are not permitted.
• Fining employees who have validly resigned from the union for engaging in protected concerted activities following their resignation or for crossing an unlawful picket line.
• Engaging in picket line misconduct, such as threatening, assaulting, or barring non-strikers from the employer's premises.
• Striking over issues unrelated to employment terms and conditions or coercively enmeshing neutrals into a labor dispute.

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Employee and labor relations

Resource Type: Article

Last Updated: September 15, 2022

The NLRA, otherwise known as the Wagner Act, is one of the most ground-breaking labor laws ever to be enacted in the United States. Its mission, in short, is to allow private-sector employees working for companies that do business across state lines to join forces and engage in activities such as protests or strikes with or without a union. Should those rights not be respected and lead to unfair treatment, it’s the NLRB’s job to investigate and, if necessary, take action.

The NLRB was given the power to resolve labor disputes through quasi-judicial proceedings and was assigned two principal functions:

1. Give employees the freedom to decide whether they want union representation and, if yes, by which union by conducting secret ballot elections.
2. Preventing and remedying unfair labor practices orchestrated by employers, unions, or both.
   

The National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) was amended by Congress several times, including in 1947 through the Taft-Hartley Act, in 1959 through the Landrum-Griffin Act, and in 1974 when the NLRB was given jurisdictional authority over nonprofit hospitals and nursing homes.

The National Labor Relations Board’s (NLRB) Responsibilities

According to its website, the NLRB’s core duties are:

• To help employees conduct elections: Workers wanting to form or join a union, or dissolve an existing one, can file an election petition by contacting an information officer at their local regional office.
• Investigating allegations: Employees whose NLRA rights have been violated can file a charge against an employer or labor union by completing a relevant form and getting in touch with a local information officer.
• Negotiating settlements: The NLRB encourages people to reach a settlement with employers or unions rather than pursue litigation.
• Deciding cases: If a settlement cannot be reached, a hearing with a NLRB administrative law judge is organized. These hearings operate similar to a regular court proceeding, with both parties invited to present evidence, witnesses, and arguments.
• Enforcing rules: Circuit courts evaluate the NLRB’s orders and then decide whether to enter a judicial decree forcing the order to be abided by.
• Improving the NLRA rules: As the labor market changes and evolves, the NLRB comes up with new ways to protect employee rights, including by modifying the NLRA it is responsible for administering.
  

How The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) Is Structured

The NLRB is a fairly small agency with 26 regional offices dotted across the U.S. Workers who believe their rights have been violated, or who have witnessed an employer or union engaging in unlawful conduct, can contact one of these offices and file a charge.

The agency is governed by a five-person board and a general counsel, who are each appointed by the president with the consent of the Senate. The board’s job is to determine whether labor violations have occurred, while the general counsel acts as a supervisor and prosecutor.

The Board

Each year, a new board member is appointed by the president, with the blessing of the Senate, for a five-year term. In total, there are five people on the NLRB’s board and it is their duty, when called upon, to hear labor disputes and resolve them through quasi-judicial proceedings.

The General Counsel

The general counsel is responsible for supervising the NLRB’s field offices and processing of cases as well as investigating and prosecuting unfair labor practices. This individual is appointed by the president for a four-year term and functions independently from the board.

On its 80th anniversary celebrated in 2015, the NLRB claimed that over 90% of the cases it receives are dealt with by its regional offices without requiring the board to intervene with formal ligation.

Examples of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) Defending Employee Rights

Since its inception in 1935, the NLRB has successfully defended the rights of private-sector employees across all types of industries. Its work often makes the news and has helped to shape American labor practices.

High-profile cases the NLRB has been involved in include when it helped to end a baseball strike that culminated in the 1994 playoffs and World Series being canceled. With the game in disarray, the NLRB persuaded then-District Court Judge Sonya Sotomayor to issue an injunction that required team owners to reinstate the provisions of the old collective bargaining agreement. Former President Barack Obama once claimed that this move “saved baseball."

The NLRB has recently been in the news again. In Nov. 2021, the agency gave workers at an Amazon warehouse in Alabama a second shot at unionizing after concluding that the e-commerce giant interfered in the first election. This is just one of a series of examples of the kind of power the NLRB possesses.

Special Considerations 

The NLRB has no independent statutory power to enforce its decisions and orders but may seek enforcement through a U.S. court of appeals. The agency’s board is also not permitted to act on its own motion and can only pursue cases that have been initiated by employees, employers, or unions.

What Is the Purpose of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB)?

The NLRB’s objective is to safeguard most private-sector employees' rights to bargain for better wages and working conditions, either with or without a union.

What Professions Are Not Protected by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB)?

The NLRB covers most of the private sector. Those it cannot help to protect include public-sector employees, agricultural and domestic workers, independent contractors, workers employed by a parent or spouse, employees of air and rail carriers covered by the Railway Labor Act, and, in some cases, supervisors.

What Is the Difference Between the NLRB and the FLRA?

The Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA) has a similar mandate to the NLRB. Where they mainly differ is in the portion of the workforce they serve—the FLRA is charged with safeguarding the rights of certain non-postal federal employees, while the NLRB protects the rights of most private-sector employees.

Which act created the National Labor Relations Board quizlet?

What was the purpose of the National Labor Relations Act of 1935?

What is the purpose of the National Labor Relations Board NLRB )?

What is the National Labor Relations Act quizlet?