Schaffer Law Library’s Guide on Searching for Federal Private Sector
Labor-Management Regulatory Materials
INTRODUCTION
The federal government regulates many aspects of labor-management relations, both
public and private: minimum wages; safety and health; hours of labor; employment
discrimination; and rights of unionization and collective bargaining. To some extent,
different federal statutes and different federal agencies regulate these various subjects.
A good, basic introduction to this field D. Leslie, Labor Law in a Nutshell (1992); a
more scholarly discussion is P. Hardin, ed., The Developing Labor Law (3d ed., 1992
and supps.).
THE STATUTES
Forerunners to the National Labor Relations Act:
• Clayton Act, c. 323, 38 Stat. 730 (1914), largely exempting labor combinations
from the antitrust laws;
• Railway Labor Act, c. 347, 44 Stat. 577 (1926), governing labor relations in the
railroad (and later the airline) industry;
• Norris-LaGuardia Act, c. 90, 47 Stat. 70 (1932), strictly limiting federal courts'
power to enjoin labor disputes. A convenient collection of legislative history
materials for all the major labor acts is R. Koretz, ed Labor Organization (1970)
[KF 3305.8 1970]
National Labor Relations Act (Wagner Act), c. 372, 49 Stat. 449 (1935), codified at 29
USC secs. 141 et seq.
• Enacted to protect the rights of workers to organize and bargain collectively.
• The NLRA regulates private labor-management relations in industries affecting
interstate commerce: it grants employees the right to combine and organize
unions and to act concertedly to protect their rights.
• It established the NLRB.
• Legislative History of the National Labor Relations Act 1935 (2 vols., Govt.
Printing Office, 1949) [Govt. Doc. LR 1.5:L 11/6/V.1 & V.2] and [KF3372 .A31 A15
1949]
Labor Management Relations Act (Taft-Hartley Act), c. 120, 61 Stat. 136 (1947),
amending the NLRA.
• Passed to redress what was regarded as the NLRA's pro-labor emphasis, the
Taft-Hartley Act prohibited coercive and discriminatory labor conduct and
required unions to bargain in good faith.
Schaffer Law Library’s Guide on Searching for Federal Private Sector
Labor-Management Regulatory Materials
• Legislative history: Legislative History of the Labor-Management Relations Act
1947 [Gov. Doc. LR 1.5:L 11/3:V.1 & V.2] and KF3356.5 .A15 1948.
Labor Management Reporting and Disclosure Act (LMRDA; Landrum-Griffin Act),
P.L. 86-257, 73 Stat. 519 (1959)
• This act imposed certain restrictions on unions to protect individual employee
rights, and also imposed reporting requirements on employers and labor
organizations.
• Legislative history: Legislative History of the Labor-Management Reporting
and Disclosure Act of 1959 [Gov. Doc. LR 1.5:L 11/7/V.1 & V.2] and [KF3400 .A31
A15 1959]
CODIFICATION
• The NLRA, as amended by the Taft-Hartley Act and other statutes, is codified in
Title 29 of the United States Code as Chapter 7 (Labor-Management Relations),
sections 141-187.
• The LMRDA is codified in 29 USC, Chapter 11 (Labor-Management Reporting
and Disclosure Procedure), sections 401-531.
• Also reprinted in 2 looseleaf sets:
o CCH Labor Law Reporter [KF3315 .L32 1965] prints statutory provisions
in its main volumes, along with research aids; the index volume contains
finding lists, by USC and act section, showing where provisions are
located in the set.
o BNA Labor Relations Reporter [KF3365 .L33] prints statutes in the second
volume of its "Labor Relations Expediter."
**Tip: The section numbers of the NLRA, as codified, differ from those of the NLRA as
enacted as a public law. Aside from the Tables volumes of the USC, two convenient
ways to translate from NLRA sections as enacted to USC sections as codified is to check
the Federal Labor Acts tables in Shepard's Federal Labor Law Citations [KF3310.5 .S5]
or those in West's annual compilation, Federal Labor Laws [KF3306]. History notes
following USC sections reverse the process, going from USC section numbers to statute
section numbers.
THE NLRB
• The NLRB enforces the NLRA; its main functions are preventing and remedying
unfair labor practices (ULPs) by employers and unions and conducting elections
Schaffer Law Library’s Guide on Searching for Federal Private Sector
Labor-Management Regulatory Materials
for employees to determine whether or not they wish to be represented by
unions.
• The NLRB is divided into two semi-autonomous branches: a General Counsel
who investigates and handles unfair practice complaints and prosecutes such
complaints before administrative law judges and on appeal before the Board. It
also supervises regional directors who initially process union representation and
unfair practice cases. The Board is a five-member Board that adjudicates cases
brought before it and issues decisions.
NLRB regulations
• Codified in 29 CFR Parts 100-103
• Reprinted in CCH Labor Relations Reporter [KF3315 .L33] (with a finding list in
the index volume) and in
• BNA Labor Relations Reporter [KF3365 .L33] ("Labor Relations Expeditor,"
binder II).
• Also available on the NLRB homepage.
• Regulations of the Labor Dept.'s Office of Labor-Management Standards
(enforcer of the LMRDA) are in 29 CFR Parts 401-459, and are reprinted in the
aforementioned looseleaf services.
NLRB determinations
• General counsel: Issues Advice Memoranda for the guidance of regional
directors. Those released by the NLRB are printed in the NLRB Advice
Memorandum Reporter (LRP) [KF3372 .A6 N11] and the CCH Labor Law
Reporter [KF3315 .L32 1965] (vol. 5) and CCH NLRB Decisions [KF3372 .A552].
•
Regional directors: Initial determinations in ULP complaints and union
representation petitions are not reported, but are briefly digested in the
Classified Index of Dispositions of ULP Charges by the General Counsel of
the NLRB and the Classified Index of Decisions of the Regional Directors of
the NLRB in Representation Proceedings, both published by the NLRB.
Decisions digested are available from the Board.
•
Administrative law judges: ALJ initial decisions are not reported, but those
adopted on appeal by the Board may be appended to the Board's decision. They
are listed in the Weekly Summary of NLRB Cases.
Schaffer Law Library’s Guide on Searching for Federal Private Sector
Labor-Management Regulatory Materials
• The Board: Usually sits in panels of three; but all five members may decide
important cases. The Board may adopt as its own ALJ decisions with which it
agrees, and it may issue "decisions by stipulation" when approving formal
settlement agreements in ULP cases.
Official reports:
• Decisions and Orders of the NLRB (1935). Cited by party (employer or union in
ULP cases; union in representation cases), volume and page (e.g., Shell Oil Co.,
218 NLRB 87 (1975).
o Decisions are initially assigned case numbers, and are thus cited until
official pagination is available (e.g. 220 NLRB no. 10).
o Available on the NLRB homepage from vol. 321 on.
Unofficial reports:
• CCH NLRB Decisions [KF3372 .A552]: Prints full text of some Board decisions;
summaries or excerpts of others; and General Counsel advice memoranda.
Indexed by CCH Labor Law Reporter [KF3315 .L32 1965].
• BNA Labor Relations Reference Manual [KF3315 .L32 1965]: Prints summaries
or excerpts of Board decisions. Indexed by BNA Labor Relations Reporter
[KF3365 .L33]
Other Board publications:
• NLRB Annual Report: Useful summary of important cases, Board policies, and
statistics.
• Weekly Summary of NLRB Cases and NLRB Election Report (monthly):
Unindexed, but useful current summaries of Board activities.
• NLRB Casehandling Manual (GPO; reprinted by CCH): Prepared by the General
Counsel, a useful guide to NLRB procedures.
THE COURTS
Final NLRB determinations are subject to review by the U.S. Courts of Appeals
by means of petitions for enforcement, and thereafter (rarely) by the Supreme Court.
All Supreme Court opinions are published in the ordinary Supreme Court reports;
many Appeals decisions are in the Federal Reporter. These are also (slowly) reprinted
in the NLRB's Court Decisions Relating to the National Labor Relations Act.
The following two specialized reports print all the decisions reported by the
above publications, with the addition of otherwise unreported Appeals decisions, and
Schaffer Law Library’s Guide on Searching for Federal Private Sector
Labor-Management Regulatory Materials
some pertinent decisions of U.S. District and state courts.
• Labor Cases (CCH): indexed by the CCH Labor Law Reporter [KF3315
.L32 1965].
• BNA Labor Relations Reference Manual [KF3315 .L32 1965]: indexed by
the BNA Labor Relations Reporter [KF3365 .L33].
THREE IMPORTANT FINDING AIDS
Classified Index of National Labor Relations Board Decisions and Related Court
Decisions [Gov. Doc. LR 1.8/6]: The official NLRB digest, arranged by a "Classification
Outline" (printed at the beginning of each volume): an excellent digest, but
supplemented slowly. Individual volumes cover varying periods (usually 2 to 3
years).
CCH Labor Relations Reporter [KF3315 .L33]: "Federal Labor Relations" (6 vols.),
topically arranged with index and case tables in first volume, covers NLRA-NLRB
materials. (Other parts cover wage-hour regulation, employment discrimination, and
state labor laws.)
•
•
Start with the subject index and case tables in vol. 1 of "Federal Labor Relations":
Subject access: Use topical index, referring to paragraph (not page) numbers:
references will take you to main volumes, which print statutes, regulations,
explanatory editorial commentary, and summaries of NLRB and court decisions.
Case access: If you know a case in point, check the case tables for paragraphs
references where they are summarized with related material.
•
Law or regulation number: Check the finding lists, which will cross reference
from law (USC or public law section) or regulation (CFR section) to paragraphs
where the section is printed and discussed.
•
Updating: After checking the main text, go to the cumulative indexes (in vol. 4):
these cross reference from paragraph numbers in the main text to paragraph
numbers assigned new materials (in vols. 4-5); here you will find recent NLRB
and court decisions and other material affecting your issues. Court opinions are
eventually collected in the bound Labor Cases, agency decisions in the bound
CCH NLRB Decisions.
Schaffer Law Library’s Guide on Searching for Federal Private Sector
Labor-Management Regulatory Materials
BNA Labor Relations Reporter [KF3365 .L33] "Master Index" (2 vols.) provides access
to entire set. NLRA-NLRB materials are covered by the "Labor Management Relations
Expeditor" (binder I: general treatise; binder II: text of laws and regulations); "Labor
Management Relations Decisions of Boards and Courts" (1 vol., containing recent NLRB
and court decisions later bound in the LRRM volumes); and "Analysis/News and
Background" (1 vol., current newsletter). (Other components cover state labor laws,
labor arbitrations, wage-hour regulation, and employment discrimination.)
To find NLRA-NLRB material, first go to the "Master Index," binder I:
• Subject access: Go to the General Index for references to treatise discussion and
law or regulation text in the "Labor Management Relations Expeditor," and for
references to the "Outline of Classification," digesting cases in the LRRM volumes
(references prefixed by a triangular symbol are to classification numbers). After
finding a pertinent classification number:
o go to the "Cumulative Digest and Index" (CDI) (also in binder I) for
pamphlets (filed most recent first) summarizing recent board and NLRB
decisions, and giving them LRRM cites;
o then go to the paperbound and hardbound CDIs (which cumulate digests
covering various periods of time) to check the same classification number,
for coverage back to 1935.
•
Case access: Go to the Cases Tables pamphlets (also in binder I) for citation of
current cases in the Decisions volume advance sheets, and for reference to
discussions of them in the "Labor Management Relations Expeditor"; these
pamphlets are filed most recent first. For older cases, go to the case tables in the
cumulated paperbound and hardbound Cumulative Digests and Indexes, which
provide access to the LRRM bound volumes.
•
Statute section: Go to Master Index binder II and check the "Statute
Coordination Lists": these provide cross references from statute section number
to section number of the Outline of Classifications under which cases dealing
with that section are digested, and to sections of the "Labor Management
Relations Expeditor" where they are discussed. The "Outline of Classifications:
Labor Relations" in Master Index, binder I, gives a outline, numeric breakdown
of the Outline of Classification (if you wish to scan it, rather than obtaining access
to it through the General Index).
Schaffer Law Library’s Guide on Searching for Federal Private Sector
Labor-Management Regulatory Materials
• Updating is provided by checking the current CDI and case table pamphlets in
the "Master Index" binders, rather than by reference to separate volumes and
tables.
SHEPARD'S FEDERAL LABOR LAW CITATIONS
Can be used as citator:
• Cases citing NLRB decisions
• Cases citing labor opinions reported in standard Supreme Court and West
reporters
• Court opinions in CCH Labor Cases citing earlier Labor Cases
• Court opinions in BNA LRRM cases citing earlier LRRM cases
Can be used as cross reference:
• Where NLRB and federal court decisions cases are reported in CCH and BNA
services (in parentheses after cite)
• Where CCH NLRB Decisions and NLRB decisions in BNA LRRM
are printed in NLRB reports
• Where court opinions in CCH Labor Cases and BNA LRRM are printed in
general court reporters.
• Where sections of labor public laws are codified in the USC
LEXIS/NEXIS: Database: LABOR
For Statutes
• USCS file: selected labor titles of current USC
• PUBLAW file: public laws, 100th Cong., 2nd sess. on
Regulations
• CFR file: selected labor titles of current CFR
• FEDREG file: labor material in Federal Register, 1980• ALLREG file: combines CFR and FEDREG files
COURTS file: labor-related federal case law
Schaffer Law Library’s Guide on Searching for Federal Private Sector
Labor-Management Regulatory Materials
NLRB
• NLRB file: Board decisions, 1972• NLRBGC file: General Counsel advice memos, 1981• BOARD file: combines NLRB and NLRBGC files
BNA: LRRM file: decisions in LRRM, vol. 117Other materials: LEXIS carries labor decisions and related materials of other federal
regulatory agencies, selected journals, BNA newsletters, and other publications.
WESTLAW
Generally
• FLB-ALL database searches all materials
• WTH-LB database notes current highlights
Statutes:
• FLB-USCA database: labor titles of current USCA
Regulations:
• FLB-FR database: Federal Register material, 1980• FLB-CR database: current CFR labor material
• FLB-REG database: combines FLB-FR and FLB-CR
Federal court opinions:
• FLB-CS covers all federal decisions
NLRB
• FLB-NLRB database: Board decisions, 1971• FLB-NLRBGC database: General Counsel memos, 1980Other materials: WESTLAW carries labor decisions and related materials of other
federal regulatory agencies, selected journals, BNA newsletters, and other publications.
INTERNET SITES
• WorkNet (Cornell School of Industrial and Labor Relations
• ABA Section of Labor and Employment Law