§4116 Prevention of Unfair Labor Practices

Summary

The General Counsel must look into any claim that a Department or labor union did something unfair at work and can send a formal complaint. If the General Counsel decides the claim does not say an unfair act happened, the person who complained must get a written explanation. The complaint must tell the Department or union what the charge is, when and where a hearing will be held, and that a hearing will take place before the Board or a person the Board names. The Department or union can answer the complaint and come to the hearing. A complaint normally cannot cover actions that happened more than 6 months before the charge was filed, unless the General Counsel finds the complainant was kept from filing in time because the Department or union failed to do a duty they owed or because the unfair act was hidden. The General Counsel may set up informal ways to try to fix the problem before filing a complaint. A hearing must be held at least 5 days after the complaint is served. People may be allowed to join and give testimony. The hearing should follow usual administrative hearing rules when possible, but strict court rules of evidence do not apply. A transcript must be kept. If the hearing officer finds the evidence shows it is more likely than not that an unfair labor practice occurred, they must write findings and order fixes. Orders can make the wrongdoer stop the practice, require parties to renegotiate a collective bargaining agreement and give it retroactive effect, require employee reinstatement with backpay under section 5596 of title 5, or any combination or other action to carry out the law’s purpose. If the evidence does not show an unfair practice, the complaint must be dismissed in writing.