New Employee Rights Posters in California
The National Labor Relations Act was upheld in a DC federal court confirming that the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) can and will require all employers to post large official notices. The National Labor Relations Act is a federal law aimed at protecting employees that take part in union and other concerted activities. Starting April 30, 2012 practically all private sector employers, even non-union workplaces, will be required to post these labor law posters with the exception of airline, railroad and agriculture industries.
The new NLRB posters must be placed in a commonly used location for notifying the employees of updates. For example, in the break room, on or next to an existing bulletin board, next t to the employee schedules. Employers can duplicate the poster so long as they do not alter the size of at least 11 x 17 inches.
Language requirements are also a concern. If 20% or more of the employees are not proficient in English, the employer must post the notice in the language of those 20% plus employees. Should the workforce have 2 or more groups of employees of 20 % or more that speak a language other than English, the employer has the right to post only one of these languages so long as the employer gives a copy of the notice to the remaining group.
The good news for employers is that the posters, including those translated into other languages, are available at no cost from the NLRB’s regional offices. The notices can also be downloaded from the NLRB’s website at www.nlrb.gov/poster
The NLRB is also requiring that companies who employ mostly web or intranet based employees post a link reading “Employee Rights Under the National Labor Relations Act ” which will allow the employee to view the poster online or on the intranet. This can be done in lieu of posting a physical poster.
Because the Department of Labor already posts similar notices on its websites and thus Federal contractors are required to do the same, they do not need to post the new NLRB poster.
Although the court decided that the NLRB had the authority to impose the poster requirement, it struck down two related provisions of the new rule. Those stated that failure to comply with the new posting requirements would be an unfair labor practice and could also have the effect of enabling employees to file unfair labor practice charges after the normal six-month time limit has expired.
The decision has been appealed. Stay tuned updates to follow.
This post is regarding employees’ rights to unionize and their rights not be retaliated against for attempting to do so. If your employer is not in compliance or you feel you are being retaliated against, please contact an experienced California labor law attorney to evaluate your situation.
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