Human Resource: Employment Law and Labor Relation

Question

Must answer ALL 3 questions and have one reference PER question. Word count per question 75- 100 word PER question.

1. What were the conditions/factors that led to the passage of the National Labor Relations Act? What is the function of the NLRA?

2. What rights does the employee have under the NLRA and how does the employee go about enforcing those rights?

3. Then NLRA prohibits certain practices of employers that would interfere with or prevent the exercise of basic rights by employees. Identify and discuss these practices

Answer

Question 1: The National Labor Relations Act, often termed as the Wagner Act, came to existence with the backdrop of the Great Depression and tumultuous labor unrest in the United States. The conditions or factors leading to its passage were manifold. Unregulated industrial relations led to exploitation, bitter strikes, and occasionally violent confrontations between labor and management. The economy was in turmoil and unemployment reached staggering heights. Unprotected workers, who were left jobless or exploited, had no entries to demand proper rights and safe working conditions. The federal laws of the time were either ineffective or favored employers over employees. In response, the act was introduced by Senator Robert F. Wagner in 1935, aiming to rectify the existing labor issues. Essentially, the function of the NLRA is to protect the rights of employees and employers, which includes the right to form, join, or assist labor organizations and to bargain collectively through representatives of their own choosing. Furthermore, it was designed to prevent certain unfair labor practices that many employers were previously utilizing (Gross, J. A., 1981).

Question 2: Under the NLRA, employees are endowed with several rights. They have the right to form, join, or assist labor organizations, to bargain collectively for wages and working conditions through agents of their own choosing, and to engage in other concerted activities for mutual aid and protection. Additionally, they also reserve the right to refrain from participating in any such activity. The enforcement of these rights largely lies with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). If an employee believes his or her rights have been violated by their employer or union, they can file a charge with the NLRB. An investigation will then be commenced. If the NLRB finds merit in the charge, it will issue a complaint against the party alleged to have violated the Act. The case will proceed to a hearing before an administrative law judge, followed by review by the Board and potentially the federal courts (Labor Law Journal, 1981).

Question 3: Falling into line with its objective to protect employees’ rights and to encourage collective bargaining, the NLRA explicitly demarcates certain unfair labor practices that employers are forbidden to engage in. These practices include interfering with, restraining or coercing employees in the exercise of rights guaranteed by the Act; dominating or interfering with the formation or administration of any labor organization; discriminating against employees to encourage or discourage membership in any labor organization; and refusing to bargain collectively with the representatives of the employees. The purpose of prohibiting these practices is to foster a level playing field between employers and employees, ensuring a fair and equitable negotiation process is observed (Smith, M. P., 1985).

References

Gross, J. A. (1981). The making of the National Labor Relations Board: a study in economics, politics, and the law, 1933-1937. Suny Press.

Labor Law Journal. (1981). Individual Rights under the National Labor Relations Act. Vol. 32, No. 7, pp. 447-452.

Smith, M. P. (1985). The Evolution of Labor Law in the U.S.: an overview. ILR Review, The Evolution of Labor Law in the U.S. 38(4), pp. 583-589.