FEDERAL LABOR LAWS SECTION 1 CURRENT FEDERAL LABOR LAWS (Not including Social Security or Unemployment Compensation) I. LABOR MANAGEMENT RELATIONS Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959 Act of July 5, 1935, as amended in 1947, 1951, 1958, and 1959, U.S. Code 1958, The Labor Management Relations Act guarantees the right of workers to organize and bargain collectively with their employers, or to refrain from all such activities. To enable employees to exercise these rights and to prevent labor disputes which may burden and obstruct commerce, it places certain limits on the activities of employers and labor organizations. Administration of the law rests primarily with the National Labor Relations Board, which is composed of five members, and the General Counsel of the Board. Members of the Board are appointed by the President, with consent of the Senate, for terms of 5 years. The term of one board member expires each year. The General Counsel is appointed by the President, with consent of the Senate, for a term of 4 years. Headquarters of the Board and the General Counsel are in Washington, D.C. PLACE TO FILE CHARGES OR PETITIONS Charges of unfair practices or petitions for elections should be filed with the Board's regional offices serving the area where the case arises. These offices are located in various cities throughout the United States and the Territories. EMPLOYEES NOT COVERED BY THE ACT The Act by its terms does not apply to employees in a business or industry where a labor dispute would not affect interstate commerce. In addition, the Act specifically states that it does not apply to the following: 1. Employees of an employer subject to the Railway Labor Act. 2. Agricultural laborers, as defined by the Fair Labor Standards Act (Wage-Hour Law). *Interpretations of the Act as amended before 1959 is based upon decisions of the Board and the courts, Any interpretation of the 1959 amendments, expressed or implied, is that of the NLRB Division of Infor mation, which prepared this Summary, and does not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of the fivemember Board or the General Counsel. 3. Domestic servants. 4. Any individual employed by his parent or spouse. 5. Government employees, including those of Government corporations or the Federal Reserve Bank, or any political subdivision such as a State or school district. 6. Employees of hospitals operated entirely on a nonprofit basis. 7. Independent contractors who depend upon profits, rather than commissions or wages, for their income. Supervisors also are excluded from the definition of employees covered by the Act. Whether or nor a person is a supervisor is determined by his authority rather than his title. The authority required to exclude an employee from coverage of the Act as a supervisor is defined in section 2(11) of the Act, which states: The term "supervisor" means any individual having authority, in the interest of the employer, to hire, transfer, suspend, lay off, recall, promote, discharge, assign, reward, or discipline other employees, or responsibility to direct them, or to adjust their grievances, or effectively to recommend such action, if in connection with the foregoing the exercise of such authority is not of a merely routine or clerical nature, but requires the use of independent judgment. BUSINESS AND INDUSTRIES IN WHICH THE BOARD TAKES CASES The Board, as a matter of policy, does not take cases in all businesses or industries which affect interstate commerce within the meaning of the Act. Section 14 (c) provides: (1) The Board, in its discretion, may, by rule of decision or by published rules adopted pursuant to the Administrative Procedure Act, decline to assert jurisdiction over any labor dispute involving any class or category of employers, where, in the opinion of the Board, the effect of such labor dispute on commerce is not sufficiently substantial to warrant the exercise of its jurisdiction: Provided, That the Board shall not decline to assert jurisdiction over any labor dispute over which it would assert jurisdiction under the standards prevailing upon August 1, 1959. (2) Nothing in this Act shall be deemed to prevent or bar any agency or the courts of any State or Territory (including the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Virgin Islands), from assuming and asserting jurisdiction over labor disputes over which the Board declines, pursuant to paragraph (1) of this subsection, to assert jurisdiction. THE RIGHTS OF EMPLOYEES The rights guaranteed employees who are covered by the law are set forth in section 7 of the Act. This section states: Employees shall have the right to self-organization, to form, join, or assist labor organizations, to bargain collectively through representatives of their own choosing, and to engage in other concerted activities for the purpose of collective bargaining or other mutual aid or protection, and shall also have the right to refrain from any or all of such activities except to the extent that such right may be affected by an agreement requiring membership in a labor organization as a condition of employment as authorized in section 8(a)(3). In addition to the usual activities of organizing and maintaining a union, the Board has found protected concerted activities to include the circulation of a petition asking for a wage increase and meetings of employees to draft a letter of complaint to management. In order to protect employees in the exercise of these rights, the Act gives the Board authority to 1. Remedy or prevent unfair labor practices of either employers or labor organizations (section 10). 2. Conduct elections to determine whether or not employees wish to have a representative bargain for them as a group (section 9). 3. Conduct polls to determine whether or not employees who have been under a union-shop agreement want to revoke the authority of their bargaining agent to make such agreements (section 9). The right of employees to strike, except as specifically modified by the Act, is preserved (section 13). However, the Board and the courts have ruled that "sitdown" strikes are not activities protected by the law because they involve the unlawful seizure of property. The Board has held also that the law does not protect slowdowns by employees who remain on the job, or partial strikes, such as a refusal to work on a certain day each week. FILING OF NON-COMMUNIST AFFIDAVITS AND OTHER DATA The filing requirements including the non-Communist affidavit were repealed by section 201(d) of the Labor Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959. UNFAIR LABOR PRACTICES OF EMPLOYERS Employers are forbidden to engage in six general types of unfair labor practices. An employer is defined in the law as including "any person acting as an agent of an employer, directly or indirectly." Employers are forbidden by the law to engage in 1. Interference, restraint, or coercion To interfere with, restrain, or coerce employees in the exercise of rights guaranteed by section 7 (section 8(a)(1)). Examples of such illegal interference: Threatening employees with loss of jobs or benefits if they should join a union. Threatening to close down the plant if a union should be organized in it. Questioning employees about their union activities or membership in such circumstances as will tend to restrain or coerce the employees. Spying on union gatherings. Granting wage increases deliberately timed to defeat selforganization among employees. 78-062 O-67-2 2. Illegal assistance or domination of a labor organization To dominate or interfere with the formation or administration of any labor organization or contribute financial or other support to it. Examples of conduct illegal under this section: An employer taking an active part in organizing a union or a committee to represent employees. An employer bringing pressure upon employees to join a union. An employer playing favorites to one of two or more unions which are competing to represent employees. In remedying such unfair practices, the Board distinguishes between "domination" of a labor organization and conduct which amounts to no more than illegal interference. When a union is found to be dominated by an employer, the Board has announced it will order the organization completely disestablished as a representative of employees. But, if the organization is found only to have been supported by employer assistance amounting to less than domination, the Board usually orders the employer to stop such support and to withhold recognition from the organization until it has been certified by the Board as a bona fide representative of employees. 8. Discrimination in employment for union activities Discrimination in hiring or tenure of employment or any term or condition of employment which tends to encourage or discourage membership in any labor organization (section 8(a) (3)). This provision, together with section 8(b) (2), prohibits the "closed shop," in which only persons who already hold membership in a labor organization may be hired. It also prohibits discriminatory hiring hall arrangements by which only persons who have "permits" from a union may be hired. However, a proviso to this section permits an employer and a union to agree to a union shop, in which employees may be required to join the union at the end of 30 days. In the building and construction industry, employees may be required to join after 7 days. Examples of discrimination in employment forbidden by this section: Demoting or discharging an employee because he urged his fellow employees to join or organize a union. Refusing to reinstate an employee (when a job for which he can qualify is open) because he took part in a lawful strike. Refusing to hire a qualified applicant for a job because he belongs to a union. Refusing to hire a qualified applicant for a job because he does not belong to a union or because he belongs to one union rather than to another union. This section does not limit the employer's right to discharge, transfer, or lay off an employee for genuine economic reasons or for just cause such as disobedience or bad work. This applies equally to employees who are active union advocates and to those who are not. However, the fact that a lawful reason for the discharge or disciplining of an employee may exist does not entitle an employer to discharge or discipline an employee when the true reason is the employee's union activities or other activities protected by the law. In weighing an employee's charge that he has been discriminated against because of his union activity, the NLRB will want to know a. What reason did the company give for taking the action against the employee? b. Did the company take the same action against other employees for the same reason? c. Was the employee given any warnings before the company acted? d. Did the company know that the employee was active in union matters or was a union member? e. What is the employee's record as to length of employment, efficiency ratings, wage increases, promotions, or words of praise from his supervisor? f. What was the company's attitude toward unions and particularly the employee's union? 4. Discrimination for participation in NLRB proceeding To discharge or otherwise discriminate against an employee because he has filed charges or given testimony under the Act (section 8(a)(4)). 5. Refusal to bargain in good faith To refuse to bargain collectively with the representative chosen by a majority of employees in a group that is appropriate for collective bargaining (section 8(a)(5)). Examples of conduct that violates this section: An employer making a wage increase without consulting the representative of employees when they have chosen such a representative. Making a wage increase larger than that offered to the employees' representative. Refusing to put an agreement with the employees' representative into writing. Refusing to deal with the representative of employees because the employees are out on strike. 6. "Hot cargo" agreements Employers are forbidden to enter into agreements to cease handling another employer's products or to cease doing business with any other person except under certain circumstances in the building and construction industry and in the apparel and clothing industry. UNFAIR LABOR PRACTICES OF UNIONS Labor organizations are forbidden to engage in any unfair labor practices listed in section 8(b) and (e) of the law. These provisions forbid labor organizations or their agents to engage in 1. Restraint or coercion a. To restrain or coerce employees in the exercise of the rights guaranteed by section 7 (section 8(b)(1)(A)). A proviso in this section states that "this paragraph shall not impair the right of a labor organization to prescribe its own rules with respect to the acquisition or retention of membership." Examples of conduct found to violate this section: Mass picketing in such numbers that nonstriking employees are physically barred from entering the plant. |