Northeastern University

United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit · 2025 · Labor Law

Labor LawNLRASupervisorsBargaining UnitsUnfair Labor Practicessupervisorassignindependent judgment

Facts

Northeastern's police department used Sergeants and Sergeant Detectives to oversee patrol officers, CSOs, Detectives, and TAD officers, especially during evenings, nights, and weekends when Sergeants were the highest-ranking personnel on duty. Sergeants assigned officers to patrol locations, adjusted deployments during shifts based on intelligence reports and unfolding incidents, determined whether to deploy the Incident Containment Team, and assigned staffing for event details, including whether to force officers to work them. Sergeant Detectives assigned cases to Detectives and TAD officers based on workload and specialties. Northeastern argued these authorities made Sergeants and Sergeant Detectives statutory supervisors excluded from the bargaining unit.

Issue

Whether Northeastern's Sergeants and Sergeant Detectives were supervisors under the NLRA because they had authority to assign subordinates using independent judgment in the employer's interest. Also at issue was whether the Board's contrary conclusion was supported by substantial evidence and consistent with its own precedent.

Rule

Under 29 U.S.C. § 152(11), an employee is a supervisor if the employee has authority to perform at least one listed supervisory function, including assigning other employees; exercises that authority with independent judgment rather than in a merely routine or clerical way; and does so in the employer's interest. Independent judgment exists when the employee acts free from others' control and forms an opinion by discerning and comparing data, and it is not negated merely because company policies exist if those policies leave room for discretionary choices. The Board acts unlawfully when it departs from its own precedent without adequately explaining the departure, and its findings must be supported by substantial evidence on the whole record.

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Lakeview College in Chicago employs shift captains in its private campus safety department. A yearly patrol chart sets minimum staffing for each zone, but captains regularly move officers during a shift based on crime bulletins, special training, and unfolding incidents, especially on nights when no higher-ranking manager is present.

Are the shift captains most likely supervisors under the NLRA on these facts?

Explanation. An employee is a supervisor if the employee has authority to perform a listed function such as assigning employees, uses independent judgment rather than acting in a merely routine or clerical way, and does so in the employer’s interest. The majority held that a general deployment plan does not negate independent judgment where it sets only a baseline and leaves room for discretionary changes. Here, the captains choose who goes where and redeploy officers based on bulletins, training, and developing events, which reflects assignment with independent judgment. (Derived from Northeastern University (n.d.).)