From making and dropping rules, to prompting U.S. Supreme Court cases about recess appointments and constitutionality, the National Labor Relations Board has generated plenty of attention in the past few months. One of its biggest recent actions is a complaint filed in January against Wal-Mart Stores Inc., accusing the retail giant of threatening or retaliating against employees who participated in protests against the company.

Wal-Mart fired back, stating in a response detailed in The Wall Street Journal that the employee protests are intended to disrupt business, and do not qualify as protected action under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), citing a lack of comprehensive notice provided by strikers to management.