NLRB Releases Employee Rights Poster Under New Rule

The National Labor Relations Board has made available for download a copy of the Employee Rights poster required under the Board’s new rule: Notification of Employee Rights under the National Labor Relations Act. This final rule, issued on August 25, 2011 and effective November 14, 2011, mandates that private sector employers subject to the NLRA post a notice informing employees of their rights under the NLRA in a “conspicuous place” readily seen by employees and penalizes employers for non-compliance. This new obligation applies to virtually all private sector employers, regardless of whether or not their workforces are unionized and regardless of whether they are federal contractors. The agency has also posted to its website a list of Frequently Asked Questions regarding the notification requirement.

Meanwhile, the rule itself is facing both legislative and legal challenges. Two bills – the Employee Workplace Freedom Act (H.R. 2833) and the Employer Free Choice Act (H.R. 2854) – were introduced in the House of Representatives earlier this month. Both of these measures would rescind the posting rule as well as prohibit the NLRB from promulgating or enforcing “any rule that requires employers to post notices relating to” the NLRA.

In addition, last week the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to nullify the rule, claiming the Board exceeded its authority in issuing it. In a press release, NAM President and CEO Jay Timmons said: “This rule is just another example of the Board’s aggressive overreach to insert itself into the day-to-day decisions of businesses – exerting powers it doesn’t have.”

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