Customer Service Standards

Public Information Program
Representation Cases
Unfair Labor Practice Cases
 

Public Information Program

What The Information Officer Can Do

• Explain what the NLRB does and does not do.
• Help prepare an unfair labor practice charge or representation petition for you, if requested.
• Refer you to another federal or local agency, if appropriate.

What The Information Officer Does Not Do

• Give legal advice.
• Give official interpretations of laws other than the National Labor Relations Act.
• Recommend or refer you to particular attorneys.
• Make any official decision about unfair labor practice case issues or representation case issues.

What To Expect If You Ask The Information Officer For Assistance

• If you come to an NLRB  office, the Information Officer will meet with you as promptly as possible. Please bear in mind that there may be several people ahead of you who want to speak with the Information Officer. You may want to consider calling first, as most matters can be handled by phone and mail.
• If you phone an NLRB  office, the Information Officer will normally speak to you at that time or will call back as promptly as possible. The Information Officer will normally be able to call you back and assist you soon after your call to the NLRB office.
• NLRB offices can provide language assistance to those who require it. Extra time may be needed to provide that service and members of the public are encouraged to call their local NLRB office if they require language assistance.
• The Information Officer will listen to your inquiry and may ask questions which will enable us to help you. The Information Officer will explain possible options available to you.
• If you are meeting with an Information Officer and decide to file a charge or petition, the Information Officer will assist you.
• If you have telephoned the Information Officer and decide to file a charge or petition, the Information Officer will normally mail you the appropriate forms soon after your call.
• Where appropriate, the Information Officer will give you literature explaining our law and our procedures.

WHENEVER YOU CONTACT THE NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD

• We will treat you courteously.
• We will provide the same treatment to all persons regardless of race, sex, religion, national origin, age, political affiliation or disability.
• Our offices are accessible to persons with disabilities. Members of the public who may need an accommodation are encouraged to contact their local NLRB office before visiting to ensure necessary accommodations are  in place.
• If you wish, you may be represented by an attorney or other representative of your own choice.

Representation Cases

What To Expect When A Petition Is Filed

• We will send all parties to the case a copy of the petition. Most petitions seek to have the NLRB conduct a secret-ballot representation election. As part of the docketing of a petition, we will set a hearing date in the event there are issues to resolve.
• We will investigate any issues which are necessary to resolve before an election can be conducted. Where appropriate, we will explain the issues raised in the case. We may ask the parties to submit their legal arguments.
• Some petitions may be dismissed. However, where an election is appropriate, we will attempt to get all parties to agree to a voluntary election agreement that outlines the specifics of conducting the election.
• Where an election is appropriate, we attempt to schedule the election as soon as practicable.
• If all parties do not agree to a voluntary election agreement, we will conduct a hearing in order to resolve necessary issues.
• The hearing will be before an NLRB Hearing Officer. All parties may present relevant evidence relating to issues which must be resolved before an election can be conducted.
• After the hearing, the NLRB Regional Director will issue a written decision as promptly as possible allowing for thorough and complete consideration of all  the evidence and issues. The time it takes to issue a decision may depend upon the length of the hearing, complexity of issues, and office workload. A party may request review of the Regional Director's decision by the Board in Washington, DC.
• Where an election is appropriate, we will conduct a secret-ballot election in such a manner so as to provide the eligible employees in the appropriate collective-bargaining unit an opportunity to cast their ballot.
• If there are determinative challenged ballots or election objections, we will investigate, and/or conduct a hearing on, the challenges and objections and issue a written report. We may ask the parties to produce witnesses, evidence, and legal arguments.
• Following the election and the resolution of any determinative challenged ballots and/or objections, we will certify that a union is, or is not, the collective-bargaining representative of the employees in the voting unit.

Unfair Labor Practice Cases

What To Expect When A Charge Is Filed

In General

• The party filing the charge is called the "charging party." The employer or union against whom the charge is filed is called the "charged party."
• All charges filed with Regional offices, except for statutory priority charges or charges that are related to existing cases are placed on the unassigned case list. For those cases placed on the unassigned case list, the charging party is asked to provide evidence in support of their charge within two weeks of the filing date of the charge.
• Once the charge is assigned for investigation, the Regional Office will investigate the charge by obtaining necessary witness statements and other relevant evidence needed to make a determination.
• Among other things, the charging party must be prepared to provide us with details of necessary events, including dates, times, places, and names of witnesses. The charging party may be requested to provide additional evidence and/or information as the investigation progresses.
• The charged party will be requested to provide relevant information and, if the evidence warrants, will be asked to make its witnesses available for an interview. The charged party may be requested to provide additional evidence and/or information as the investigation progresses.
• Where appropriate, we will explain to both sides the issues which have been raised in the case. We may ask the parties to submit their legal arguments.
• We will complete the investigation, decide whether the case has merit, and implement our decision as promptly as possible, allowing for a thorough and complete investigation.
• All parties will be expected to submit their evidence promptly so that we may complete the investigation in a timely manner. We may give a party a deadline to submit their evidence and arguments. We will try to be flexible, consistent with our duty to complete the investigation in a timely manner.
• The length of time it takes to decide whether a case has merit may vary depending upon our caseload, the priority of the case and other cases in the NLRB Regional Office, the number of witnesses to be interviewed and the complexity of legal and factual issues raised. We would rather take a little longer to complete the investigation if that's what is necessary to do a good job.
• We will evaluate cases to determine whether we should ask for a court injunction to stop the alleged unfair labor practices temporarily until the NLRB is able to decide the case.
• Following an investigation, the Regional Director will determine whether there is merit to the allegations made in the charge.

Where There Is a Decision That the Charge Does Not Have Merit

• If the Regional Director decides that the charge does not have merit, we will explain the reasons to the charging party. If the charging party withdraws their charge, a notice to that effect will be sent to both parties and the charging party cannot appeal the Regional Director’s determination of no merit. If the Regional Director dismisses the charge, a letter will be sent to both parties notifying them of the determination and providing the charging party with an opportunity to appeal that determination.
• If the charging party appeals the dismissal, the General Counsel's Office of Appeals in Washington, DC, will fully review all the evidence and consider the arguments raised in the charging party's appeal. The length of time before a decision on the appeal issues will vary depending on a number of factors, including the amount of evidentiary material which must be analyzed and the complexity of the issues.

Where There Is A Decision That The Charge Has Merit

• If the Regional Director determines that allegations in the  charge have merit, we will explain the decision to the parties and offer the charged party an opportunity to settle before a formal complaint is issued. We will continue to try to settle the case after issuance of the complaint. In addition, you should bring settlement possibilities to our attention as they develop.
• If the charge proceeds to trial, an Agency attorney will prepare and present the case to an NLRB Administrative Law Judge (ALJ). Other parties to the case may be present, be represented by counsel if they choose, and may examine witnesses and present relevant evidence. The length of time before trial will vary depending on a number of factors, including how many other cases are set for trial.
• After the trial is concluded, the ALJ will issue a written decision and recommended order, which can be appealed to the Board in Washington and ultimately to the Federal courts. The length of time before decisions of the ALJ and the Board issue will vary depending on a number of factors, including the length of the trial and the complexity of the issues.

 What We Are Doing To Improve Our Service

• After a charge is filed, the charging party is required to e-file evidence within two weeks of filing the charge.
• Once the charging party submits the required evidence, the charge will not be assigned until an NLRB Agent becomes available to investigate the matter in a timely manner.
• We are evaluating cases to determine whether an injunction is warranted to temporarily stop the alleged unfair labor practices until the NLRB is able to decide the case.
• We are evaluating cases to determine if greater priority needs to be given to particular cases to process them more quickly.
• When one of our offices is overburdened by cases filed with them, we may transfer cases to another NLRB office.
• Regional Directors are being given greater procedural discretion in order to reduce delays. 
• We are continuing to examine additional ways to improve our performance at all stages of case processing.
• We welcome your comments about the services we provide or should provide. You may contact us at the address below.

QUESTIONS, COMPLAINTS AND COMMENTS ABOUT OUR SERVICE

Please address any comments you may have about our services by mail or e-mail to one of our office locations.

The headquarters mailing address is:

NLRB - Division of Operations Management
1015 Half Street SE
Washington, DC 20570

E-mail: Publicinfo@nlrb.gov