Brudney on the NLRB's Uncertain Future

James Brudney (Ohio State) has posted on SSRN his forthcoming article in the Comparative Labor Law & Policy Journal: Isolated and Politicized: The NLRB's Uncertain Future, 27 Comp. Lab. L. & Pol'y J. 221 (2006).

From the abstract:

The National Labor Relations Board has managed to remain unusually detached or isolated in its decision-making even as it has come to operate in an openly partisan manner. There is a certain paradoxical quality to the coexistence of these two descriptors for Board conduct: isolation in agency performance ordinarily suggests a neutral separation from the political process whereas politicization implies a close connection to the elected branches.

The explanation for this odd pairing involves a number of factors: some reflect political realities beyond the agency's ability to control, others relate to the structure of the NLRA, and still others are a function of internal agency choices. The article discusses and analyzes these various factors, drawing comparisons to labor law experience in other countries, and also contrasting the NLRB's path with that followed by two other New Deal agencies.

You can download this timely article here.

PS