The NLRB has advised the public that all employers covered by the National Labor Relations Act (generally all private sector employers) will be required to post a notification of employees’ rights by November 14, 2011.  The Board’s August 25th press release, which contains links to the Final Rule and additional information, is reprinted below.  The issuance of the Final Rule follows a notice and comment period in which employers generally called such a posting unnecessary and misleading.

The National Labor Relations Board has issued a Final Rule that will require employers to notify employees of their rights under the National Labor Relations Act as of November 14, 2011. 

Private-sector employers (including labor organizations) whose workplaces fall under the National Labor Relations Act will be required to post the employee rights notice where other workplace notices are typically posted. Also, employers who customarily post notices to employees regarding personnel rules or policies on an internet or intranet site will be required to post the Board’s notice on those sites. Copies of the notice will be available from the Agency’s regional offices, and it may also be downloaded from the NLRB website at  https://www.nlrb.gov/poster.

The notice, which is similar to one required by the U.S. Department of Labor for federal contractors, states that employees have the right to act together to improve wages and working conditions, to form, join and assist a union, to bargain collectively with their employer, and to refrain from any of these activities. It provides examples of unlawful employer and union conduct and instructs employees how to contact the NLRB with questions or complaints. 

The Board received approximately 6,500 comments during the 60-day comment period following publication of the Proposed Rule in the Federal Register, and accepted an additional 500 that arrived after the deadline. In response to the comments, some parts of the rule were modified. For example, employers will not be required to distribute the notice via email, voice mail, text messaging or related electronic communications even if they customarily communicate with their employees in that manner, and they may post notices in black and white as well as in color. The final rule also clarifies requirements for posting in foreign languages. Similar postings of workplace rights are required under other federal workplace laws. 

Board Chairman Wilma B. Liebman and Members Mark Gaston Pearce and Craig Becker approved the final rule, with Member Brian Hayes dissenting. 

The rule will be published in the Federal Register tomorrow, and will take effect 75 days later. A fact sheet with further information about the rule is available here.

 

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Photo of Ana C. Shields Ana C. Shields

Ana Shields is a Principal in the Long Island, New York, office of Jackson Lewis P.C. Since joining Jackson Lewis in June 2005, she has practiced exclusively in employment law and has been involved in proceedings before federal and state courts, the American…

Ana Shields is a Principal in the Long Island, New York, office of Jackson Lewis P.C. Since joining Jackson Lewis in June 2005, she has practiced exclusively in employment law and has been involved in proceedings before federal and state courts, the American Arbitration Association and administrative agencies.

Ms. Shields has successfully prepared pleadings, motions, memoranda of law, position statements and legal opinions related to employment law issues such as employment discrimination, harassment, retaliation, whistle-blowing claims and restrictive covenants. Ms. Shields has advised clients on compliance with various state and federal laws affecting the workplace, including Title VII, the Equal Pay Act, Fair Labor Standards Act, Family and Medical Leave Act, Americans with Disabilities Act, Age Discrimination in Employment Act and New York State and City laws. In addition, she is a firm resource for Electronic Discovery. She has worked closely with clients through all phases of litigation including investigations, preparations for depositions, attending depositions and trials.

While attending law school, Ms. Shields was a published member of the New York International Law Review. She was the recipient of the 2003 American Bar Association/Bureau of National Affairs Award for Excellence in Labor and Employment Law. She was also awarded the CALI Award for Excellence in Employment Law, Advanced Labor Law, and Jurisprudence.

Prior to joining the firm, Ms. Shields was a commercial litigation associate at a firm in Long Island, New York.