Happy Labor Day!

Happy Labor Day!

The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has issued the final rule requiring employers to display a poster explaining to employees their labor relations rights. The final rule takes effect on November 14, 2011.

The posting requirement applies to all private-sector employers (including labor unions) subject to the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), which excludes agricultural, railroad and airline employers. Even if there is no union in your workplace, you still have to post the notice.

The NLRB will provide copies of the notice on request at no cost to the employer beginning on or before November 1, 2011. These can be obtained by contacting the NLRB at its headquarters or its regional, sub-regional, or resident offices. Employers will also be able to download the notice from the NLRBs website and print it out in color or black-and-white on a minimum size of one 11-by-17-inch paper or two 8-by-11-inch papers in landscape format taped together. Employers can also satisfy the rule by purchasing and posting a set of workplace posters from a commercial supplier.

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. Employers are not required to distribute the posting by email, Twitter or other electronic means.

The notice must be posted in English and in another language if at least 20 percent of employees are not proficient in English and speak the other language. The NLRB will provide translations of the notice, and of the required link to the NLRBs website, in the appropriate languages.The rule has no record-keeping or reporting requirements. Failure to post the notice may be treated as an unfair labor practice under the NLRA. The NLRB investigates allegations of unfair labor practices made by employees, unions, employers, or other persons, but does not initiate enforcement action on its own. The NLRB has said it expects that, in most cases, employers who fail to post the notice are unaware of the rule and will comply when requested by a NLRB agent. In such cases, the unfair labor practice case will typically be closed without further action. The NLRB also may 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 willfullyfails 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. The NLRB does not have the authority to levy fines.

Poster language is set out below:

EMPLOYEE RIGHTS UNDER THE NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS ACT

The National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) guarantees the right of employees to organize and bargain collectively with their employers, and to engage in other protected concerted activity or to refrain from engaging in any of the above activity. Employees covered by the NLRA* are protected from certain types of employer and union misconduct. This Notice gives you general information about your rights, and about the obligations of employers and unions under the NLRA. Contact the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), the Federal agency that investigates and resolves complaints under the NLRA, using the contact information supplied below, if you have any questions about specific rights that may apply in your particular workplace.

Under the NLRA, you have the right to:

à Organize a union to negotiate with your employer concerning your wages, hours, and other terms and conditions of employment.

à Form, join or assist a union.

à Bargain collectively through representatives of employees own choosing for a contract with your employer setting your wages, benefits, hours, and other working conditions.

à Discuss your wages and benefits and other terms and conditions of employment or union organizing with your co-workers or a union.

à Take action with one or more co-workers to improve your working conditions by, among other means, raising work-related complaints directly with your employer or with a government agency, and seeking help from a union.

à Strike and picket, depending on the purpose or means of the strike or the picketing.

à Choose not to do any of these activities, including joining or remaining a member of a union.

Under the NLRA, it is illegal for your employer to:

à Prohibit you from talking about or soliciting for a union during non-work time, such as before or after work or during break times; or from distributing union literature during non-work time, in non-work areas, such as parking lots or break rooms.

à Question you about your union support or activities in a manner that discourages you from engaging in that activity.

à Fire, demote, or transfer you, or reduce your hours or change your shift, or otherwise take adverse action against you, or threaten to take any of these actions, because you join or support a union, or because you engage in concerted activity for mutual aid and protection, or because you choose not to engage in any such activity.

à Threaten to close your workplace if workers choose a union to represent them.

à Promise or grant promotions, pay raises, or other benefits to discourage or encourage union support.

à Prohibit you from wearing union hats, buttons, t-shirts, and pins in the workplace except under special circumstances.

à Spy on or videotape peaceful union activities and gatherings or pretend to do so.