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NLRA Overview

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Our employees are forming a labor organization. Can you please give us a run-down of what the NLRA does?

Yes. The NLRA is an acronym that stands for the National Labor Relations Act. In general, the NLRA is in place in order to give employees of a company the right to form a labor organization that can help them bargain with the management of a company. Often, these labor organizations will try to get better wages, hours, or working conditions for employees, but they are in place so that they can be a broad voice for the laborers of a company.

The NLRA often serves to protect employees from practices by employers and unions that employees believe are unfair. Also, the NLRA is a federal document, which means that it applies to companies across the U.S. in all 50 states.

There are some employers that are exempt from coverage under the NLRA. For example, if a retailer grosses less than $500,000 each year or if your businesses earn less than $50,000, then your business is exempt.

As far as employees that are exempt from coverage under the NLRA goes, employees that are already protected under the Railway Labor Act (RLA), and employees that are agricultural workers or domestic workers, supervisors, independent contractors and the children or spouse of an employer are also exempt from coverage.

As far as the activities of the labor organization that your employees are forming go, there are certain things that they can do that are protected under the NLRA. These things include: work stoppages, lobbying or appealing to government agencies, filing court action, protesting safety violations, filing complaints and even honoring picket lines.

However, your employees cannot have a sit-down strike, breach company confidentiality, make false accusations against persons within the company or the company itself, or make a public disparagement of your company.

In response, you cannot intimidate, threaten, discriminate, or retaliate against participating employees for their actions.