39 U.S.C. § 1209
Section 1209 · Applicability of Federal labor laws
Amended 1 time on record
Applied in 55 court decisions — leading case Old Dominion Branch No. 496 v. Austin (1974)
Most recently applied in 134 S. Ct. 2618 - Harris v. Quinn (June 2014)
How often courts cite this section
Court decisions citing this, by year.Markers show enactment, consequential amendments, and circuit splits over this section — watch for a citation surge after a change or a disagreement. The dip in the last several years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so recent citations are undercounted.
(a) Employee-management relations shall, to the extent not inconsistent with provisions of this title, be subject to the provisions of subchapter II of chapter 7 of title 29.
(b) The provisions of chapter 11 of title 29 shall be applicable to labor organizations that have or are seeking to attain recognition under section 1203 of this title, and to such organizations, officers, agents, shop stewards, other representatives, and members to the extent to which such provisions would be applicable if the Postal Service were an employer under section 402 of title 29. In addition to the authority conferred on him under section 438 of title 29, the Secretary of Labor shall have authority, by regulation issued with the written concurrence of the Postal Service, to prescribe simplified reports for any such labor organization. The Secretary of Labor may revoke such provision for simplified forms of any such labor organization if he determines, after such investigation as he deems proper and after due notice and opportunity for a hearing, that the purposes of this chapter and of chapter 11 of title 29 would be served thereby.
(c) Each employee of the Postal Service shall have the right, freely and without fear of penalty or reprisal, to form, join, and assist a labor organization or to refrain from any such activity, and each employee shall be protected in the exercise of this right.