Basic Guide to the National Labor Relations Act

The Act does not cover certain Individuals. In addition to the foregoing limitations, the Act states that the term 
“employee” shall include any employee except the following: 
• 
Agricultural laborers. 
• 
Domestic servants. 
• 
Any individual employed by his parent or spouse. 
• 
Independent contractors. 
• 
Supervisors. 
• 
Individuals employed by an employer subject to the Railway Labor Act. 
•
Government employees, including those employed by the U .S. Government, any Government corporation 
or Federal Reserve Bank, or any State or political subdivision such as a city, town, or school district. 
Supervisor defined. Supervisors are excluded from the definition of “employee” and, therefore, not covered by 
the Act. Whether an individual is a supervisor for purposes of the Act depends on that individual’s authority over 
employees and not merely a title. A supervisor is defined by the Act as any individual who has the authority, acting 
in the interest of an employer, to cause another employee to be hired, transferred, suspended, laid off, recalled, 
promoted, discharged, assigned, rewarded, or disciplined, either by taking such action or by recommending it to a 
superior; or who has the authority responsibly to direct other employees or adjust their grievances; provided, in all 
cases, that the exercise of authority is not of a merely routine or clerical nature, but requires the exercise of 
independent judgment. For example, a foreman who determined which employees would be laid off after being 
directed by the job superintendent to layoff four employees would be considered a supervisor and would, therefore, 
not be covered by the Act; a “strawboss” who, after someone else determined which employees would be laid off, 
merely informed the employees of the layoff and who neither directed other employees nor adjusted their grievances 
would not be considered a supervisor and would be covered by the Act. 
“Managerial” employees are also excluded from the protection of the Act. A managerial employee is one who 
represents management interests by taking or recommending actions that effectively control or implement employer 
policy. 
The Act does not cover certain employers. The term “employer” includes any person who acts as an agent of an 
employer, but it does not include the following: 
•
The United States or any State Government, or any political subdivision of either, or any Government 
corporation or Federal Reserve Bank. 
• 
Any employer subject to the Railway Labor Act.