NLRA poster requirement okay, but enforcement too aggressive, says court

A federal district court recently upheld the National Labor Relations Board’s new rule requiring employers to display a poster informing workers of their rights under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). However, the court said the Board went too far when it issued a one-size-fits-all policy that failure to display the poster would be an unfair labor practice and would stop the normal six-month statute of limitations from running. The court ruled that the Board has the authority to make those determinations, but they must be done on a case-by-case basis, with specific findings to support the Board’s reasoning (National Association of Manufacturers v. NLRB, D DC, March 2012).

Tips: The poster must be physically posted by April 30, 2012. Electronic posting is also required, if you normally post employee notices on a company intranet or website. The electronic poster must either be an exact copy, or available through a link that says “Employee Rights under the National Labor Relations Act.” Fortunately, federal contractors who already are displaying the NLRA poster from the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) can rely on the DOL poster.

If more than 20 percent of your workforce isn’t proficient in English and speaks another language, then you must display the poster in their language. The Board’s website already contains translations into more than 20 languages, but if you don’t see what you need, they will create a translation for you.