The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) recently released its case processing statistics for FY 2020. The Board has reported favorable numbers for the second year in a row, reflecting the agency’s continued focus on processing cases in a timely manner.
According to the NLRB press release:
“The Board issued 374 decisions in contested cases during FY 2020. Consistent with the case expediting program begun in September 2018, the Board has continued its commitment to improving case processing to better serve the parties and the American public. Under the program, the Board's focus in FY 2020 was on issuing decisions in the oldest pending cases. As a result of those efforts, the median age of all cases pending before the Board was reduced from 157 days at the end of FY 2019 to 85 days at the end of FY 2020, a 46% reduction. The number of cases pending before the Board is at its lowest level in over 40 years.”
The Regional Offices also made strides in decreasing case processing time. The overall time from filing to disposition fell from 90.0 to 73.8 average days, an 18 percent decrease since the end of FY 2018. The time for informal settlements to disposition of an unfair labor practice cases fell from 172.6 to 136.3 average days, a 21 percent decrease since the end of FY 2018. The Regional Offices also posted a settlement rate of 96 percent in FY 2020, resolving 4,666 cases prior to issuing a complaint and 570 cases post-complaint. The Division Advice, which provides guidance to the agency’s Regional Offices, closed 233 more cases in FY 2020 than in FY 2019.
The NLRB seems to be staying true to its strategic plans to reduce case processing and streamline processes. NLRB Chairman John F. Ring echoed this sentiment in the press release, stating “[o]ne of the most important responsibilities the Board has in fulfilling its mission is to get parties their decisions as soon as possible.” Employers can expect this trend to continue and should be prepared for a faster-moving process in the future.
