and in accordance with regulations prescribed by the Au-
thority, shall— 
(1) determine the appropriateness of units for 
labor organization representation; 
(2) supervise and conduct elections to determine 
whether a labor organization has been selected as an 
exclusive representative by a voting majority of the 
employees in an appropriate unit; 
(3) resolve issues relating to the duty to bargain 
in good faith; 
(4) conduct hearings and resolve complaints of 
unfair labor practices; 
(5) resolve exceptions to the awards of arbitra-
tors; 
(6) protect the right of each employee to form, 
join, or assist any labor organization, or to refrain 
from any such activity, freely and without fear of 
penalty or reprisal, and protect each employee in the 
exercise of such right; 
(7) if the Authority finds that any State is not 
in compliance with the regulations prescribed under 
subsection (a), direct compliance by such State by 
order; and 
(8) take such other actions as are necessary and 
appropriate to effectively administer this Act, includ-
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ing issuing subpoenas requiring the attendance and 
testimony of witnesses and the production of docu-
mentary or other evidence from any place in the 
United States, and administering oaths, taking or or-
dering the taking of depositions, ordering responses to 
written interrogatories, and receiving and examining 
witnesses. 
(c) ENFORCEMENT.— 
(1) PETITION BY AUTHORITY.—If a State fails to 
comply with a final order issued by the Authority, the 
Authority shall petition any United States Court of 
Appeals with jurisdiction over the parties or the 
United States Court of Appeals for the District of Co-
lumbia Circuit to enforce any final orders under this 
section, and for appropriate temporary relief or a re-
straining order. Any petition under this section shall 
be conducted in accordance with section 7123(c) and 
(d) of title 5, United States Code, except that any 
final order of the Authority with respect to questions 
of fact shall be found to be conclusive unless the court 
determines that the Authority’s decision was arbi-
trary and capricious. 
(2) RIGHT OF ACTION.—Unless the Authority has 
filed a petition for enforcement as provided in para-
graph (1), any interested party shall have the right 
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to file suit against any political subdivision of a 
State, or, if the State has waived its sovereign immu-
nity, against the State itself, in any district court of 
the United States of competent jurisdiction to enforce 
compliance with the regulations issued by the Author-
ity pursuant to subsection (b), to enforce compliance 
with any order issued by the Authority pursuant to 
this section, or to enforce section 6 of this Act. The 
right provided by this paragraph to bring a suit to 
enforce compliance with any order issued by the Au-
thority pursuant to this section shall terminate upon 
the filing of a petition seeking the same relief by the 
Authority under paragraph (1). 
SEC. 6. STRIKES AND LOCKOUTS PROHIBITED. 
Notwithstanding any rights or responsibilities pro-
vided under State law or under regulations issued by the 
Authority under section 5— 
(1) a public safety employer may not engage in 
a lockout of public safety officers; 
(2) public safety officers may not engage in a 
strike against such public safety employer; and 
(3) a labor organization may not call for a 
strike by public safety officers against their public 
safety employer. 
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SEC. 7. EXISTING COLLECTIVE BARGAINING UNITS AND 
AGREEMENTS. 
This Act and the regulations issued under this Act 
shall not be construed to invalidate a certification, recogni-
tion, collective bargaining agreement, or memorandum of 
understanding which has been issued, approved, or ratified 
by any public employee relations board or commission or 
by any State or political subdivision or its agents (manage-
ment officials) in effect on the day before the date of enact-
ment of this Act, or the results of any election held before 
the date of enactment of this Act. 
SEC. 8. CONSTRUCTION, COMPLIANCE, AND ENFORCEMENT. 
(a) CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this Act or the regu-
lations issued under this Act shall be construed— 
(1) to preempt or limit the remedies, rights, and 
procedures of any law of any State or political sub-
division of any State or jurisdiction that substan-
tially provides greater or comparable rights and re-
sponsibilities described in section 4(b); 
(2) to prevent a State from enforcing a State law 
which prohibits employers and labor organizations 
from negotiating provisions in a labor agreement that 
require union membership or payment of union fees 
as a condition of employment; 
(3) to preempt any State law in effect on the 
date of enactment of this Act that substantially pro-
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vides for the rights and responsibilities described in 
section 4(b) solely because— 
(A) such State law permits an employee to 
appear in his or her own behalf with respect to 
his or her employment relations with the public 
safety agency involved; 
(B) such State law excludes from its cov-
erage employees of a state militia or national 
guard; 
(C) such rights and responsibilities have not 
been extended to other categories of employees 
covered by this Act, in which case the Authority 
shall only exercise the powers provided in section 
5 of this Act with respect to those categories of 
employees who have not been afforded the rights 
and responsibilities described in section 4(b); or 
(D) such laws or ordinances provide that a 
contract or memorandum of understanding be-
tween a public safety employer and a labor orga-
nization must be presented to a legislative body 
as part of the process for approving such con-
tract or memorandum of understanding; 
(4) to permit parties subject to the National 
Labor Relations Act (29 U.S.C. 151 et seq.) and the 
regulations under such Act to negotiate provisions 
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