Summary
The United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit grants the National Labor Relations Board’s application for summary enforcement of its decision and order against Mays Printing Company, Inc. The order requires the company to bargain with the union, restore health insurance benefits and wages, make affected employees whole, and take related remedial and notice-posting actions.
Topics
Practice areas
Questions Presented
- Whether the Sixth Circuit should summarily enforce the National Labor Relations Board's decision and order when the respondent failed to timely answer the charges and the enforcement application and filed no objections with the Board.
Holdings
- Absent extraordinary circumstances, a National Labor Relations Board decision and order is entitled to summary enforcement when no objections are filed with the Board; because Mays failed to timely answer the charges and the enforcement application, the Board was entitled to enforcement.
Key quotations
“in the absence of extraordinary circumstances, a Board decision and order is entitled to summary enforcement if no objections are filed with the Board” (593)
“It therefore is ORDERED and ADJUDGED that the Board’s May 29, 2009 decision and order in Case No. 7-CA-51544 is hereby enforced.” (593)
Factual background
Mays Printing Company failed to continue health insurance benefits required by a 2007-2010 collective-bargaining agreement, unilaterally reduced unit employees' wages, and bypassed the union by dealing directly with employees about wages. The Board found these actions violated federal labor law and ordered Mays to restore the status quo, continue the contractual health benefits, make required benefit contributions, and make employees whole for resulting losses. Mays failed to timely answer the unfair-labor-practice charges and the Board's application for summary enforcement.
Procedural history
The Board entered a default judgment after Mays failed to timely answer the unfair-labor-practice charges. The Board then sought summary enforcement in the Sixth Circuit of its May 29, 2009 decision and order in Case No. 7-CA-51544. Because Mays also failed to timely answer the enforcement application and filed no objections to the Board's order, the court granted enforcement and directed Mays to comply with the Board's remedial provisions.