Labor Law – Labor-Management Relations Act- Extent of Discretion Exercised by District Courts in Issuing Temporary Injunctions Against Alleged Unfair Labor Practice

The Labor-Management Relations Act gives federal district courts jurisdiction to grant injunctions in two different situations, notwithstanding the general policy against granting in junctions in labor disputes not involving fraud or violence set by the Norris-LaGuardia Act. The grant of limited injunctive jurisdiction given by section 208 in one situation, national emergencies, will not be discussed. This comment will deal only with the other, the grant of jurisdiction in sections 10(j) and (l) to enjoin alleged unfair labor practices at the request of the National Labor Relations Board’s regional officer, pending a disposition of the charges by the Board. This jurisdiction may be invoked whenever the district court deems such relief “just and proper,” and this phrase can be as crucial to the outcome of a labor dispute as it is vague as a standard for issuing the in junction. The purpose of this comment is therefore to examine the facts which a court will require before it deems injunctive relief “just and proper.”