The name of an American federal labor law which was passed in 1947, and which sought to "equalize legal responsibilities of labor organizations and employers". An earlier law, called the Wagner Act, was aimed primarily at employer behavior and, it was felt, may have gone too far in protecting union rights. To balance that, the Taft-Hartley was aimed at unions and sought to restrain their activities under certain circumstances, by detailing union rights and duties. For example, the Taft-Hartley Act exempted supervisors from its provisions, allowed employees to decline participation in union activities and permitted union decertification petitions.