102.114—Filing and service of papers by parties; form of papers; manner and proof of filing or service; electronic filings.
(a)
Service of documents by a party on other parties may be made personally, or by registered mail, certified mail, regular mail, electronic mail (if the document was filed electronically) or private delivery service. Service of documents by a party on other parties by any other means, including facsimile transmission, is permitted only with the consent of the party being served. Unless otherwise specified elsewhere in these rules, service on all parties shall be made in the same manner as that utilized in filing the document with the Board, or in a more expeditious manner; however, when filing with the Board is done by hand, the other parties shall be promptly notified of such action by telephone, followed by service of a copy in a manner designed to insure receipt by them by the close of the next business day. The provisions of this section apply to the General Counsel after a complaint has issued, just as they do to any other party, except to the extent that the provisions of § 102.113(a) or § 102.113(c) provide otherwise.
(b)
When service is made by registered mail, or by certified mail, the return post office receipt shall be proof of service. When service is made by a private delivery service, the receipt from that service showing delivery shall be proof of service. However, these methods of proof of service are not exclusive; any sufficient proof may be relied upon to establish service.
(c)
Failure to comply with the requirements of this section relating to timeliness of service on other parties shall be a basis for either:
(2)
Withholding or reconsidering any ruling on the subject matter raised by the document until after service has been made and the served party has had reasonable opportunity to respond.
(d)
Papers filed with the Board, General Counsel, Regional Director, Administrative Law Judge, or Hearing Officer shall be typewritten or otherwise legibly duplicated on 8 1/2 by 11-inch plain white paper, shall have margins no less than one inch on each side, shall be in a typeface no smaller than 12 characters-per-inch (elite or the equivalent), and shall be double spaced (except that quotations and footnotes may be single spaced). Carbon copies shall not be filed and will not be accepted. Nonconforming papers may, at the Agency's discretion, be rejected.
(e)
The person or party serving the papers or process on other parties in conformance with § 102.113 and paragraph (a) of this section shall submit a written statement of service thereof to the Board stating the names of the parties served and the date and manner of service. Proof of service as defined in paragraph (a) of this section shall be required by the Board only if subsequent to the receipt of the statement of service a question is raised with respect to proper service. Failure to make proof of service does not affect the validity of the service.
(f)
Unfair labor practice charges, petitions in representation proceedings, objections to elections, and requests for extensions of time for filing documents will be accepted by the Agency if transmitted to the facsimile machine of the appropriate office. Other documents, except those specifically prohibited in paragraph (g) of this section, will be accepted by the Agency if transmitted to the facsimile machine of the office designated to receive them only with advance permission from the receiving office which may be obtained by telephone. Advance permission must be obtained for each such filing. At the discretion of the receiving office, the person submitting a document by facsimile may be required simultaneously to serve the original and any required copies on the office by overnight delivery service. When filing a charge, a petition in a representation proceeding, or election objections by facsimile transmission pursuant to this section, receipt of the transmitted document by the Agency constitutes filing with the Agency. A failure to timely file or serve a document will not be excused on the basis of a claim that transmission could not be accomplished because the receiving machine was off-line or busy or unavailable for any other reason.
(g)
Facsimile transmissions of the following documents will not be accepted for filing: Showing of Interest in Support of Representation Petitions, including Decertification Petitions; Answers to Complaints; Exceptions or Cross-Exceptions; Briefs; Requests for Review of Regional Director Decisions; Administrative Appeals from Dismissal of Petitions or Unfair Labor Practice Charges; Objections to Settlements; EAJA Applications; Motions for Default Judgment; Motions for Summary Judgment; Motions to Dismiss; Motions for Reconsideration; Motions to Clarify; Motions to Reopen the Record; Motions to Intervene; Motions to Transfer, Consolidate or Sever; or Petitions for Advisory Opinions. Facsimile transmissions in contravention of this rule will not be filed.
(h)
Documents and other papers filed through facsimile transmission shall be served on all parties in the same way as used to serve the office where filed, or in a more expeditious manner, in conformance with paragraph (a) of this section. Thus, facsimile transmission shall be used for this purpose whenever possible. When a party cannot be served by this method, or chooses not to accept service by facsimile as provided for in paragraph (a) of this section, the party shall be notified personally or by telephone of the substance of the transmitted document and a copy of the document shall be served by personal service or overnight delivery service.
(i)
The Agency's Web site (http://www.nlrb.gov) contains certain forms that parties or other persons are permitted to file with the Agency electronically. Parties or other persons choosing to utilize those forms to file documents electronically are permitted to do so by following the instructions described on the Web site, notwithstanding any contrary provisions elsewhere in these rules. In the event the document being filed electronically is required to be served on another party to a proceeding, the other party shall be served by electronic mail (e-mail), if possible. If the other party does not have the ability to receive electronic service, the other party shall be notified by telephone of the substance of the transmitted document and a copy of the document shall be served by personal service no later than the next day, by overnight delivery service, or, with the permission of the party receiving the document, by facsimile transmission.