LawyersUSA

The National Labor Relations Board will begin issuing final decisions of the Board and its administrative law judges electronically, and quicken the pace that those decisions are publicly posted online under a new pilot program that will launch in July.

Currently, when decisions are issued, they are sent to parties of the action by U.S. mail. The decisions are then posted on the Board's website (www.nlrb.gov) the third business day after being sent to the parties.

Under the pilot project, parties to Board cases can register for electronic service beginning in July. Then, beginning in August, final Board and ALJ decisions will be issued electronically to those who register for the program.

The same day the opinions are sent to parties electronically, a daily "docket sheet" on the Board's website will indicate that a decision has been rendered. The full text of the decisions will then be posted on the NLRB website at 2:00 p.m. the next business day, such that the parties who register for electronic service will receive the decisions one day before the decision becomes publicly available on the website.

Parties who do not register for electronic service will continue to receive formal service of the Board's or ALJ's decision by U.S. mail.

"E-Issuance of Board and ALJ decisions is the most consistent and effective way to make decisions promptly available to parties and the public," Chairman Peter C. Schaumber said in a statement announcing the program. "Parties who sign up for E-Issuance will receive decisions immediately upon issuance, regardless of their location. E-Issuance will make the Board's processes and documents more readily accessible to the public, and will result in significant cost savings to the agency."