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Law360 (May 15, 2020, 7:06 PM EDT ) The National Labor Relations Board's judicial branch will start hearing labor disputes again on June 1, following the buildup of its capacity to hold proceedings over teleconference, the agency said Friday.
The announcement lifts an indefinite pause on hearings in unfair labor practice cases the board implemented in March as COVID-19 spread and forced rapid operational changes across the federal labor agencies.
"The agency has since taken the necessary steps to acquire the licenses and equipment needed to conduct such hearings remotely using online videoconferencing technology," it said in Friday's announcement.
However, the agency's chief administrative judges will consider requests to postpone hearings on a case-by-case basis, it added. And the trial judges in each case will decide motions or objections over whether to hold an in-person or online hearing, or take certain testimony by videoconference.
Friday's announcement moves the NLRB closer to full operations after it paused most in-person activity due to the virus in mid-March. At that time, the agency shifted to agencywide telework and postponed union elections and hearings in unfair labor practice cases.
The agency gave regional officials the green light to begin conducting union elections by mail a few weeks later. Regional directors have since gone forward with several mail-in ballot elections, over the objections of employers that sought to put off votes.
On Monday, the board said hearings conducted by regional officials in disputes over union elections should be held via teleconference if they involve witness testimony, but can be held over telephone when testimony is not needed.
The board has also said employers that have closed due to the pandemic and are found to have violated the National Labor Relations Act should not notify workers of these findings until after they reopen.
--Additional reporting by Adam Lidgett. Editing by Stephen Berg.
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