NLRB Issues New Poster Requirements for Most Employers - Effective 11/14/11
The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has issued a new poster requirement (Final Rule for Notification of Employee Rights) which will be effective on November 14, 2011. Employers should begin posting the notice on November 14, 2011; copies of the notice will be available on the NLRB website (www.nlrb.gov) and from NLRB regional offices (www.nlrb.gov/who-we-are/regional-offices) by November 1.
All employers covered by the NLRA – union, non-union, federal contractor and non-contractor – will be required to notify employees of their rights under the Act. Such notification must be made by posting a mandatory notice in conspicuous places and where other government posters are posted. The posting requirement applies to all private-sector employers (including labor unions) subject to the National Labor Relations Act, which excludes agricultural, railroad and airline employers. The Board has agreed to exempt the U.S. Postal Service for the time being based on comments received after the announcement of the proposed rule as well as that organization’s unique rules under the Act. Government contractors and subcontractors who already have a similar posting requirement for a U.S. Department of Labor poster (the Beck Notice), will be deemed to be in compliance if the post the USDOL poster.
The NLRB notice provides employees with general information about their rights and about the obligations of employers and unions under the NLRA. The notice states that employees have the right to organize, form, join or assist a union, to bargain collectively to improve wages, benefits, hours, and other working conditions, to discuss terms and conditions of employment with fellow employees or a union, to take action with those fellow employees to improve working conditions, and to strike and picket. The notice also informs workers that they have the right to refrain from any of these activities. The notice also offers examples of illegal employer and union conduct and instructs employees on how to contact the NLRB with any questions or complaints.
The Board will provide copies of the notice to employers beginning on or before November 1, 2011. The notice of rights will be provided at no charge by NLRB regional offices or by downloading from the NLRB’s website – www.nlrb.gov. The copies are can be printed in color or black and white on one 11” x 17” paper or two 8” x 11” papers taped together. Employers can also satisfy the requirements by purchasing and posting a set of workplace posters from a commercial supplier.
If covered by the rule, employers must post the notice in a conspicuous place where it would be readily seen by its employees. In addition to the physical posting, the rule requires every covered employer to post the notice on an internet or intranet site if personnel rules and policies are customarily posted there.
Translated versions will be available and the notice must be posted in English and in another language if at least 20% of employers are not proficient in English and speak another language.
Failure to post the notice may be treated as an unfair labor practice under the National Labor Relations Act. The Board expects that, in most cases, employers who fail to post the notice are unaware of the rule and will comply when requested by a Board agent. If this is the case, the unfair labor practice case will typically be close without further action. The Board may also extend the 6-month statute of limitations for filing a charge involving other unfair labor practice allegations against the employer. If an employer knowingly and willfully fails to post the notice, the failure may be considered evidence of unlawful motive in an unfair labor practice case involving other alleged violations of the NLRA.