45 USC 165 – Evaluation and audit of Mediation Board
(a) Evaluation and audit of Mediation Board
(1) In general
In order to promote economy, efficiency, and effectiveness in the administration of the programs, operations, and activities of the Mediation Board, the Comptroller General of the United States shall evaluate and audit the programs and expenditures of the Mediation Board. Such an evaluation and audit shall be conducted not less frequently than every 2 years, but may be conducted as determined necessary by the Comptroller General or the appropriate congressional committees.
(2) Responsibility of Comptroller General
In carrying out the evaluation and audit required under paragraph (1), the Comptroller General shall evaluate and audit the programs, operations, and activities of the Mediation Board, including, at a minimum—
(A) information management and security, including privacy protection of personally identifiable information;
(B) resource management;
(C) workforce development;
(D) procurement and contracting planning, practices, and policies;
(E) the extent to which the Mediation Board follows leading practices in selected management areas; and
(F) the processes the Mediation Board follows to address challenges in—
(i) initial investigations of applications requesting that an organization or individual be certified as the representative of any craft or class of employees;
(ii) determining and certifying representatives of employees; and
(iii) ensuring that the process occurs without interference, influence, or coercion.
(b) Immediate review of certification procedures
Not later than 180 days after February 14, 2012, the Comptroller General shall review the processes applied by the Mediation Board to certify or decertify representation of employees by a labor organization and make recommendations to the Board and appropriate congressional committees regarding actions that may be taken by the Board or Congress to ensure that the processes are fair and reasonable for all parties. Such review shall be conducted separately from any evaluation and audit under subsection (a) and shall include, at a minimum—
(1) an evaluation of the existing processes and changes to such processes that have occurred since the establishment of the Mediation Board and whether those changes are consistent with congressional intent; and
(2) a description of the extent to which such processes are consistent with similar processes applied to other Federal or State agencies with jurisdiction over labor relations, and an evaluation of any justifications for any discrepancies between the processes of the Mediation Board and such similar Federal or State processes.
(c) Appropriate congressional committee defined
Terms Used In 45 USC 165
- commerce: means commerce among the several States or between any State, Territory, or the District of Columbia and any foreign nation, or between any Territory or the District of Columbia and any State, or between any Territory and any other Territory, or between any Territory and the District of Columbia, or within any Territory or the District of Columbia, or between points in the same State but through any other State or any Territory or the District of Columbia or any foreign nation. See 45 USC 151
- individual: shall include every infant member of the species homo sapiens who is born alive at any stage of development. See 1 USC 8
- Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
- Mediation Board: means the National Mediation Board created by this chapter. See 45 USC 151
- representative: means any person or persons, labor union, organization, or corporation designated either by a carrier or group of carriers or by its or their employees, to act for it or them. See 45 USC 151
- State: means a State, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, or any other territory or possession of the United States. See 1 USC 7
In this section, the term “appropriate congressional committees” means the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives, the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate, and the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate.