[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1598 Introduced in House (IH)]







105th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1598

To amend the National Labor Relations Act to require the National Labor 
Relations Board to resolve unfair labor practice complaints in a timely 
                                manner.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 14, 1997

 Mr. Goodling introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                Committee on Education and the Workforce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend the National Labor Relations Act to require the National Labor 
Relations Board to resolve unfair labor practice complaints in a timely 
                                manner.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Justice on Time Act of 1997''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds the following:
            (1) An employee has a right under the National Labor 
        Relations Act to be free from discrimination with regard to 
        hire or tenure of employment or any term or condition of 
        employment to encourage or discourage membership in any labor 
        organization. The Congress, the National Labor Relations Board, 
        and the courts have recognized that the discharge of an 
        employee to encourage or discourage union membership has a 
        particularly chilling effect on the exercise of rights provided 
        under section 7.
            (2) Although an employee who has been discharged because of 
        support or lack of support for a labor organization has a right 
        to be reinstated to the previously held position with backpay, 
        reinstatement is often ordered months and even years after the 
        initial discharge due to the lengthy delays in the processing 
        of unfair labor practice charges by the National Labor 
        Relations Board and to the several layers of appeal under the 
        National Labor Relations Act.
            (3) In order to minimize the chilling effect on the 
        exercise of rights provided under section 7 caused by an 
        unlawful discharge and to maximize the effectiveness of the 
        remedies for unlawful discrimination under the National Labor 
        Relations Act, the National Labor Relations Board should 
        endeavor to resolve in a timely manner all unfair labor 
        practice complaints alleging that an employee has been 
        unlawfully discharged to encourage or discourage membership in 
        a labor organization.
            (4) Expeditious resolution of such complaints would benefit 
        all parties not only by ensuring swift justice, but also by 
        reducing the costs of litigation and backpay awards.

SEC. 3. PURPOSE.

    The purpose of this Act is to ensure that the National Labor 
Relations Board resolves in a timely manner all unfair labor practice 
complaints alleging that an employee has been unlawfully discharged to 
encourage or discourage membership in a labor organization.

SEC. 4. TIMELY RESOLUTION.

    Section 10(m) of the National Labor Relations Act is amended by 
adding at the end the following new sentence: ``Whenever a complaint is 
issued as provided in subsection (b) upon a charge that any person has 
engaged in or is engaging in an unfair labor practice within the 
meaning of subsection (a)(3) or (b)(2) of section 8 involving an 
unlawful discharge, the Board shall state its findings of fact and 
issue and cause to be served on such person an order requiring such 
person to cease and desist from such unfair labor practice and to take 
such affirmative action, including reinstatement of an employee with or 
without backpay, as will effectuate the policies of this Act, or shall 
state its findings of fact and issue an order dismissing the said 
complaint, not later than 365 days after the filing of the unfair labor 
practice charge with the Board.''.

SEC. 5. REGULATIONS.

    The Board may issue such regulations as are necessary to carry out 
the purposes of this Act.
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