NLRB and DOL Create Mutual Referral Service | Practical Law

NLRB and DOL Create Mutual Referral Service | Practical Law

The Office of the General Counsel of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) released a memorandum outlining the circumstances and procedures under which NLRB agents must notify charging parties or witnesses of their rights to file a complaint with the Department of Labor's (DOL) Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) or Wage and Hour Division (WHD). The memorandum also provides procedures for coordinating parallel agency investigations.

NLRB and DOL Create Mutual Referral Service

Practical Law Legal Update 1-578-0785 (Approx. 4 pages)

NLRB and DOL Create Mutual Referral Service

by Practical Law Labor & Employment
Published on 12 Aug 2014 • USA (National/Federal)
The Office of the General Counsel of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) released a memorandum outlining the circumstances and procedures under which NLRB agents must notify charging parties or witnesses of their rights to file a complaint with the Department of Labor's (DOL) Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) or Wage and Hour Division (WHD). The memorandum also provides procedures for coordinating parallel agency investigations.
On August 8, 2014, the Office of the General Counsel of the NLRB released a memorandum outlining the circumstances and procedures under which NLRB agents must notify charging parties or witnesses of their rights to file a complaint with the Department of Labor's (DOL) Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) or Wage and Hour Division (WHD). The memorandum also provides procedures for coordinating parallel agency investigations.
The memorandum states that if an NLRB Region believes or becomes aware that an employer may have violated a substantive or anti-retaliation provision of the Occupational Safety and Health Act or the FLSA, the NLRB agent should notify the charging party or witness of his right to file a complaint with OSHA or the WHD. Examples of these violations could include when an employer:
  • Requires an employee to work under unsafe or unhealthy working conditions.
  • Fails to properly pay an employee for all hours worked.
  • Retaliates against an employee for complaining about a perceived violation.
The memorandum provides the contact information for OSHA and the WHD. It also states that if an NLRB Region learns, while handling an unfair labor practice, that OSHA or the WHD is handling a parallel investigation under their statutes, the Region should contact the local DOL Regional Solicitor to coordinate case processing with the DOL, if appropriate.
This memorandum supplements a prior memorandum in which the NLRB announced that OSHA would notify its complainants who file untimely OSHA retaliation charges of their right to file a charge for that same conduct with the NLRB (see Legal Update, NLRB to Salvage Stale OSHA Whistleblower Claims).