An unfair labor practice (ULP) in United States labor law refers to certain actions taken by employers or unions that violate the National Labor Relations Act of 1935 (49 Stat. 449) (also known as the NLRA and the Wagner Act after NY Senator Robert F. Wagner) and other legislation. Such acts are investigated by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). Definition of "unfair labor practice" The NLRB has the authority to investigate and remedy unfair labor practices, which are defined in Section 8 of the Act. In broad terms, the NLRB makes it unlawful for an employer to: interfere with two or more employees acting in concert to protect rights provided for in the Act, whether or not a union exists to dominate or interfere with the formation or administration of a labor organization to discriminate against an employee from engaging in concerted or union activities or refraining from them to discriminate against an employee for filing charges with the NLRB or taking part in any NLRB proceedings to refuse to bargain with the union that is the lawful representative of its employees The Act similarly bars unions from: restraining or coercing employees in the exercise of their rights or an employer in the choice of its bargaining representative causing an employer to discriminate against an employee refusing to bargain with the employer of the employees it represents engaging in certain types of secondary boycotts requiring excessive dues engaging in featherbedding (requiring an employer to pay for unneeded workers) picketing for recognition for more than thirty days without petitioning for an election entering into "hot cargo" agreements (refusing to handle goods from an anti-union employer) striking or picketing a health care establishment without giving the required notice Applying this general language to the real world requires, in the words of Supreme Court Justice Felix Frankfurter, "distinctions more nice than obvious". The substantive law applied by the NLRB is described elsewhere under specific headings devoted to particular topics. Not every unfair act amounts to an unfair labor practice; as an example, failing to pay an individual worker overtime pay for hours worked in excess of forty hours in a week might be a violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act, but it is unlikely to amount to an unfair labor practice as well. Similarly, a violation of a collective bargaining agreement, standing alone, may not constitute an unfair labor practice unless