Opinion · Supreme Court of the United States

National Labor Relations Board v. Getman

404 U.S. 1204

Type
Opinion
Court
Supreme Court of the United States
Jurisdiction
Federal
Date
1971-07-27
Topic
employee-benefits-and-executive-compensation

MR. Justice Black, Acting Circuit Justice. Respondents, two law professors who are undertaking a study of labor representation elections, applied for and obtained an order from the United States District Court for the District of Columbia requiring the National Labor Relations Board to provide respondents “with names and addresses of employees eligible to vote in approximately 35 elections to be designated by (respondents).” Respondents base their claim to the information on the language of the Freedom of Information Act, 5 U. S. C. § 552 (a)(3), which requires that a Government agency “on request for identifiable records . . . shall make the records promptly available to any person.” The Government has filed an application seeking a stay of the order of the District Court.

Citator

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Cited by
23 opinions

Headnotes

  1. Administrative Law — Freedom of Information Act Under the Freedom of Information Act, 5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(3), a government agency, upon request for identifiable records, must make those records promptly available to any person.
  2. Administrative Law — Freedom of Information Act The Freedom of Information Act contains no exception that would authorize the National Labor Relations Board to refuse promptly to turn over requested identifiable records, and the Board's obligation to disclose such records is not excused by the fact that doing so may interfere with representation election procedures under the National Labor Relations Act.
MR. Justice Black,

Acting Circuit Justice.

Respondents, two law professors who are undertaking a study of labor representation elections, applied for and obtained an order from the United States District Court for the District of Columbia requiring the National Labor Relations Board to provide respondents “with names and addresses of employees eligible to vote in approximately 35 elections to be designated by (respondents).” Respondents base their claim to the information on the language of the Freedom of Information Act, 5 U. S. C. § 552 (a)(3), which requires that a Government agency “on request for identifiable records . . . shall make the records promptly available to any person.” The Government has filed an application seeking a stay of the order of the District Court. This application was assigned to me in the absence of The Chief Justice.

The Government applies for a stay on the ground that the District Court order requiring the Board to comply with the Freedom of Information Act and deliver the records in question to respondents would interfere with the representation election procedures under the National Labor Relations Act, 49 Stat. 449, as amended. The Board was created by Congress and Congress has *1205 seen fit to make identifiable records of the Board and other Government agencies available to any person upon proper request. I find no exception in the Freedom of Information Act which would authorize the Board to refuse promptly to turn over the requested records. I deny the application for stay without prejudice to the Government to present its application to another Member of this Court.

It is so ordered.