The National Labor Relations Board is a unique agency within the United States Government. Its purpose is to administer the Labor Management Relations Act. The Board strategically deals with cases of unfair labor practice by abiding procedures through federal regulations. In its statutory role, the Board determines whether or not employees must be mandated to be represented in unions, and also to intervene within unfair labor practices. Most significantly, the limited jurisdiction of the Board is one of the most important principles that one must understand to comprehend the nature of which the Board considers cases.

The key components to analyze when exercising the limited jurisdiction include determining the employer type (government supported; non-profit/for-profit), organization governance (religious group operated), and also the employers’ effect on interstate commerce (monetary standard). The Board closely looks at the potential ties an Employer has with government funds when exercising jurisdiction. Considering the Act only covers what Section 2(2) as an “employer” defines, limited jurisdiction is portrayed in this section by excluding a covered employer that may be a fully owned government corporation. Thus, one may think that a non-profit organization that receives funds from the government would not be granted jurisdiction. However, governmental control may not be the only cause for declined jurisdiction, and jurisdiction may be asserted over these employers if the monetary standard is met. This applies also to church supported social agencies. Moreover, educational institutions with a religious purpose will not be asserted jurisdiction due to the First Amendment (freedom of religion and separation of church and state).

The Commerce Standard has two purposes: to determine if an employer can be granted jurisdiction by its effect on commerce, and also, underlying, to moderate the Board’s caseload. The reason why it is so important for the Board to consider whether or not the Employer affects commerce is this: labor relations are an important factor in sustaining industrial peace and keep a steady flow of goods within interstate commerce. One may assume that many business affect interstate commerce, and so the caseload would still remain the same for the Board. This is precisely the reason the Board has set monetary standards accordingly for the employer to meet so the Board can determine whether they will assert jurisdiction, or not. Business must exceed certain annual revenue to be covered under an Act. Of course, the specific dollar amount varies among type of business.

In conclusion, the limited jurisdiction of the National Labor Relations Board is enforced because of the regulations they must follow outlined in the Labor Management Relations Act. The Act takes into consideration its main goal to act in the best interest of labor relations and thus sets standards to affirm its mission to prevent and remedy industrial dissension.