Labor – Campus police – Supervisors

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The National Labor Relations Board concluded that members of a university’s campus police were not supervisors within the meaning of the National Labor Relations Act, the board’s conclusion deviates from its own precedents without adequate explanation and is not supported by substantial evidence.

Vacated and remanded.

“These consolidated cases concern whether members of an urban university’s campus police are ‘supervisors’ within the meaning of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) and thus are excluded from any police union bargaining unit. … The National Labor Relations Board (the ‘Board’) concluded that the Northeastern University Police Department’s (NUPD) Sergeants and Sergeant Detectives were not supervisors and included them in a bargaining unit represented by the intervenor, American Coalition of Public Safety (ACOPS). When Northeastern refused to bargain with the unit, arguing that these two categories of employee met the definition of supervisors, the Board found that Northeastern committed an unfair labor practice. … Northeastern petitions that the order is error and seeks to vacate the unfair-labor-practice finding. The Board cross-petitions to enforce its order.

“For the reasons which follow, we deny the Board’s cross-petition for enforcement, vacate its unfair-labor-practice finding against Northeastern, and remand with instructions to address any remaining issues in a manner consistent with this opinion. The Board’s conclusion that Sergeants and Sergeant Detectives are not supervisors deviates from its own precedents without adequate explanation and is not supported by the record. And because we hold that substantial evidence supports the conclusion that Sergeants and Sergeant Detectives were supervisors by virtue of their authority to assign their subordinates and exercise independent judgment while doing so, we need not and do not reach the other issues argued by the parties. …

“The NLRA excludes from bargaining units ‘any individual employed as a supervisor.’ …

“On review of the entire record, we conclude the Board’s determination that Sergeants and Sergeant Detectives are not supervisors is not supported by substantial evidence, the Board committed errors of law when it deviated from its own precedent without adequate explanation, and the Board ignored material, uncontested evidence. …

“The Board’s conclusion that Sergeants and Sergeant Detectives are not supervisors deviates from its own precedents without adequate explanation and is not supported by substantial evidence. Rather, when viewed as a whole, the record shows that Sergeants and Sergeant Detectives have authority to assign subordinates, exercise independent judgment while doing so, and hold that authority for the benefit of Northeastern, making Sergeants and Sergeant Detectives supervisors within the meaning of the NLRA. …

“For the foregoing reasons, we deny the Board’s application, vacate its unfair-labor-practices finding against Northeastern, and remand with instructions, consistent with this opinion, to address any remaining issues such as, for example, whether to decertify the bargaining unit and hold a new election or simply eliminate Sergeants and Sergeant Detectives from the unit’s membership.”

Northeastern University v. National Labor Relations Board (Lawyers Weekly No. 01-096-25) (23 pages) (Lynch, J.) Robert A. Fisher, with whom John P. Phillips and Seyfarth Shaw LLP were on brief, for the petitioner; Eric Weitz, with whom Kira Dellinger Vol, Micah P.S. Jost, William B. Cowen, Peter Sung Ohr, Ruth E. Burdick and Meredith Jason were on brief, for the respondent (Docket Nos. 24-1523 and 24-1707) (May 23, 2025).

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