preview

Essay about The National Labor Relations Board

Better Essays

The ability for the federal government to regulate businesses’ activity is given in the Constitution. Article 1, Section 8 is known as the commerce clause; it states, “Congress shall have the Power…to regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian Tribes” (Reed, 173). Through the commerce clause, the government is able to regulate business activity by the use of administrative agencies, which is defined as “a governmental regulatory body that controls and supervises a particular activity or area of public interest and administers and enforces a particular body of law related to that activity or interest” (Administrative Agency, 1). There are two types of regulatory authority that agencies may …show more content…

(Reed, 630)
To properly examine the NLRB it is imperative to understand how it is organized. The NLRB “has five members and primarily acts as a quasi-judicial body in deciding cases on the basis of formal records in administrative proceedings. Board Members are appointed by the President to 5-year terms, with Senate consent, the term of one Member expiring each year” (NLRB.gov). In addition to the board members there is a General Counsel, which is appointed by the President to a 4-year term and is independent from the board. The person appointed to the position of General Counsel is responsible for the investigation and prosecution of unfair labor practice cases and for the general supervision of the NLRB field offices in the processing of cases. (NLRB.gov) The NLRB also has a Division of Judges, which is made up of 40 Administrative Law Judges who hear, settle and decide unfair labor practice cases throughout the United States.
Next, it is important to understand what the NLRB does and does not have jurisdiction over. The NLRB does not have jurisdiction over 6 types of labors: (1) governmental employees, (2) persons covered by the Railway Act, (3) independent contractors, (4) agricultural laborers, (5) household/domestic workers, and (6) employees who work for their spouse or parents (Reed, 631). Technically the NLRB has jurisdiction over everything else; however, the NLRB has a limited budget as well as time constraints and so must limit

Get Access