Order Grants General Counsel Certain Powers in the Event NLRB is Left with Two Sitting Members

Anticipating that the National Labor Relations Board may be left with only two sitting members come January, the agency has issued an order (pdf) temporarily granting the General Counsel (GC) full authority over litigation matters that would otherwise require Board authorization and the ability to certify the results of any secret ballot election conducted under the National Emergency provisions of the Labor Management Relations Act (LMRA). Currently, the Board is comprised of Chairman Mark Gaston Pearce and Members Brian Hayes and Craig Becker. Terence F. Flynn’s nomination to fill the vacant Republican seat on the Board is still pending, and Becker’s controversial recess appointment is set to expire at the end of 2011. While President Obama re-nominated Becker to serve a full term, it is virtually assured that the Senate will not confirm him. Procedural maneuvers may prevent the President from making recess appointments, leaving just two sitting members in 2012.

In last year’s New Process Steel opinion, the Supreme Court held that the National Labor Relations Act requires that the Board operate with at least three members in order to exercise its full authority. While regional NLRB offices would still be able to conduct representation elections and investigate unfair labor practice charges, any appeals to those decisions or outcomes would be unable to progress to the highest administrative level. Therefore, unless the Senate confirms Board nominations or the President is able to make recess appointments, the Board could be rendered effectively powerless in 2012.

To that end, the Order – effective as of November 3, 2011 – authorizes the GC:

to initiate and prosecute injunction proceedings under section 10(j) or section 10(e) and (f) of the Act, contempt proceedings pertaining to the enforcement of or compliance with any order of the Board, and any other court litigation that would otherwise require Board authorization; and to institute and conduct appeals to the Supreme Court by writ of error or on petition for certiorari. The Board also delegates to the General Counsel full and final authority and responsibility on behalf of the Board to certify to the Attorney General the results of any secret ballot elections held among employees on the question of whether they wish to accept the final offer of settlement made by their employer pursuant to section 209(b) of the Labor Management Relations Act, 29 U.S.C. 179(b). These delegations shall become and remain effective during any time at which the Board has fewer than three Members, unless and until revoked by the Board.

The Order explains that because this action relates to the Board’s internal management, it is exempt from public input.

Information contained in this publication is intended for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice or opinion, nor is it a substitute for the professional judgment of an attorney.