Publication Date
1969
Abstract
LONG before the United States Supreme Court in 1964 handed down its now celebrated Wiley decision,' drawing attention to the problems of successorship in the field of labor law, the National Labor Relations Board (the Board) on frequent occasions had to wrestle with these problems under the National Labor Relations Act (the Act). The Board's shift of position over the years on one of the two chief successorship issues-the liability of a successor to remedy the predecessor's unfair labor practices - is indicative of the legal and practical difficulties inherent in this issue. In recent years, the increasing number of sales and mergers of corporations and other business entities has brought more successorship cases before the Board, and it appears that no two cases decided by the Board are exactly the same or even very similar. Thus, there has been and continues to be a myriad of different situations as to which it may be increasingly difficult for the Board to apply any simple rule-of-thumb as to the successor's liability.
The Wiley decision and the several significant court decisions which followed it were the results of section 301 suits to compel the observance of an arbitration clause in a collective bargaining agreement signed by a predecessor employer. Thus, the Board was not a party to these important court cases. Nevertheless, the impact of these decisions, particularly Wiley, on Board doctrines is bound to be significant before too long. Although this impact has been delayed by the Board's apparent reluctance to make definitive pronouncements in some Wiley - related issues presented to it, a ruling in this very important area cannot be long delayed.
Recommended Citation
Gordon, H. Stephan
(1969)
"Legal Questions of Successorship,"
Georgia Law Review: Vol. 3:
No.
2, Article 4.
Available at:
https://digitalcommons.law.uga.edu/glr/vol3/iss2/4