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National Labor Relations Board (NLRB)
Practical Law Glossary Item 3-501-8649 (Approx. 3 pages)
Glossary
National Labor Relations Board (NLRB)
An independent federal agency charged with administering the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), the principal federal law governing labor relations between union and private sector employers. The NLRB's primary duties are:
- Conducting elections to determine union representation of employees.
- Acting to prevent or remedy unfair labor practices by employers and unions.
The NLRB is empowered to:
- Certify unions as representatives of employees in collective bargaining.
- Investigate unfair labor practice charges.
- Issue and adjudicate complaints flowing from unfair labor practice charges.
- Issue, and seek enforcement of orders, remedying unfair labor practices.
The NLRB is also empowered to engage in rule-making.
The NLRB is headed by a five member panel often referred to as the Board and a general counsel, all appointed by the president with the approval of the senate.
Members of the Board sit for five years and chiefly review decisions by:
- NLRB administrative law judges from unfair labor practice trials to which exceptions (those are administrative appeals) have been filed.
- NLRB regional directors on objections to union representation elections and pre-election proceedings.
The General Counsel of the NLRB is selected for a four year term. His office acts chiefly as the prosecutorial branch of the NLRB, including:
- Providing advice to regional directors of the NLRB regarding the minimum accounts needed to issue complaints on unfair labor practice charges.
- Deputizing investigators in regional offices of the NLRB to act as counsel for the general counsel and prosecute unfair labor practice complaints in trials before NLRB administrative law judges.
- Representing the NLRB in federal courts.