Editing Unfair labor practice (section)

==Definition of "unfair labor practice"==
The NLRB has the authority to investigate and remedy unfair labor practices, which are defined in Section 8 of the Act. In broad terms, the NLRB makes it unlawful for an employer to:<ref>{{Cite web |title=Interfering with employee rights (Section 7 & 8(a)(1)) |url=https://www.nlrb.gov/about-nlrb/rights-we-protect/the-law/interfering-with-employee-rights-section-7-8a1 |access-date=2023-02-02 |website=www.nlrb.gov}}</ref>

*interfere with two or more employees acting in concert to protect rights provided for in the Act, whether or not a union exists;
**Examples of concerted, protected activity includes:
***[[Picketing]] 
***[[Collective bargaining|Collective Bargaining]] 
***Attempting to Enforce an active Collective Bargaining Agreement 
***Filing an Unfair Labor Practice (ULP) charge with the National Labor Relations Board ([[National Labor Relations Board|NLRB]])
***Testifying in ULP proceedings at the direction of the NLRB. 
***Campaigning for Union Elections, or elections for union representatives 
***Distributing newsletters about [[Right-to-work law|right to work laws]], [[voter registration]], [[Minimum wage in the United States|minimum wage]] issues, etc.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Eastex, Inc. v. NLRB, 437 U.S. 556 (1978) |url=https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/437/556/ |access-date=2023-04-14 |website=Justia Law |language=en}}</ref>
***Any other right listed in Section 7 of the [[National Labor Relations Act of 1935|National Labor Relations Act]].
*dominate or interfere with the formation or administration of a labor organization;
*interfere with a union election or a union campaign;
*discriminate against an employee from engaging in concerted or union activities or refraining from them;
*discriminate against an employee for filing charges with the NLRB or taking part in any NLRB proceedings; or
*refuse to [[collective bargaining|bargain]] with the union that is the lawful representative of its employees.

The Act similarly bars unions from:

*restraining or coercing employees in the exercise of their rights or an employer in the choice of its bargaining representative;
*causing an employer to discriminate against an employee in violation of [[Title VII]] of the Civil Rights Act of 1964;
*refusing to bargain with the employer of the employees it represents;
*engaging in certain types of [[secondary boycott]]s;
*requiring excessive [[union dues|dues]];
*engaging in [[featherbedding]] (requiring an employer to pay for unneeded workers);
*picketing for recognition for more than thirty days without petitioning for an election;
*entering into "[[hot cargo]]" agreements (refusing to handle goods from an anti-union employer);<ref>{{Cite web |title="Hot Cargo" agreements (Section 8(e)) {{!}} National Labor Relations Board |url=https://www.nlrb.gov/about-nlrb/rights-we-protect/the-law/hot-cargo-agreements-section-8e |access-date=2023-02-28 |website=www.nlrb.gov}}</ref> or
*striking or picketing a health care establishment without giving the required notice. 

Applying this general language to the real world requires, in the words of [[United States Supreme Court|Supreme Court]] Justice [[Felix Frankfurter]], "distinctions more nice than obvious".<ref>{{Cite web |title=Labor Unions {{!}} www.unzmarkt-frauenburg.at |url=https://www.unzmarkt-frauenburg.at/blog/labor-unions.php |access-date=2023-04-14 |website=www.unzmarkt-frauenburg.at}}</ref> The substantive law applied by the NLRB is described elsewhere under specific headings devoted to particular topics.

Not every unfair act amounts to an unfair labor practice; as an example, failing to pay an individual worker overtime pay for hours worked in excess of forty hours in a week might be a violation of the [[Fair Labor Standards Act]], but it is unlikely to amount to an unfair labor practice as well. Similarly, a violation of a [[Collective Bargaining Agreement|collective bargaining agreement]],<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Collective Bargaining {{!}} AFL-CIO |url=https://aflcio.org/what-unions-do/empower-workers/collective-bargaining |access-date=2023-04-14 |website=aflcio.org}}</ref> standing alone, may not constitute an unfair labor practice unless the employer has not only violated the contract but repudiated all or part of it.<ref name=":0" />