The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) issued a decision in Metro Health, Inc. d/b/a Hospital Metropolitano Rio San Pedras overruling UPMC (2017) and holding that the NLRB will no longer accept “consent orders,” where an Administrative Law Judge resolves an unfair labor practice based on terms offered by the Respondent but objected to by both the Charging Party and the General Counsel.
The NLRB majority concluded that the current practice fails to serve the goals of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) because it does not facilitate a truly mutual resolution of labor disputes. The decision explains that the practice of accepting consent orders seems contrary to the NLRB’s Rules and Regulations, creates administrative difficulties and inefficiencies, and tends to interfere with the prosecutorial authority of the General Counsel. The NLRB, however, reaffirmed its longstanding practice of accepting true settlement agreements between a respondent and the General Counsel and/or a charging party in lieu of finally adjudicating an unfair labor practice case on the merits, where accepting the settlement would effectuate the policies of the NLRA.