HR: NRLB Mandatory Posting for Employers
Earlier in the year, the National Labor Relations Board issued a controversial Final Rule that would require the majority of private sector employers to notify their employees of their rights under the National Labor Relations Act by posting a new mandatory workplace poster. The 
original effective date was November 14, 2011.
Last week the NLRB announced it was postponing the implementation date until the beginning of the year. The new effective date is January 31, 2012. Reports indicate that the NLRB postponed the deadline “in the interest of ensuring broad voluntary compliance”. Evidently there were many businesses and trade organizations that questioned the uncertainty about which businesses fall under the Board’s jurisdiction.
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. Because NLRA rights apply to union and non-union workplaces, all employers subject to the Board’s jurisdiction (aside from the USPS) will be required to post the notice. The Board has chosen not to assert its jurisdiction over very small employers whose annual volume of business is not large enough to have a more than a slight effect on interstate commerce.
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% of employees are not proficient in English and speak the other language. The Board will provide translations of the notice, and of the required link to the Board’s website, in the appropriate languages.
The 11 by 17 inch notice is available at no cost from the NRLB through their website, either by downloading and printing or ordering a print by mail. For further information, please go to https://www.nlrb.gov