Board invites briefs on questions of tax payments and Social Security contributions in remedial awards

The National Labor Relations Board today invited briefs from all interested parties on whether, in awarding back pay, it should routinely require the respondent to: 1) submit documentation to the Social Security Administration so that backpay is allocated to the appropriate calendar quarters, and 2) pay for any excess federal and state income taxes owed as a result of receiving a lump-sum payment.
The invitation to file briefs is contained in a decision issued today involving Latino Express, a charter bus company in Chicago. The Board largely agreed with the administrative law judge that the company committed multiple unfair labor practices, including illegally dismissing two employees, during the course of a union organizing campaign. The union, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Local 777, ultimately won the ensuing election.
In issuing the decision, the Board severed the two remedial questions and retained them for further consideration. Briefs not to exceed 25 pages should be filed with the Board on or before October 1.