Update: The NLRB has announced an indefinite postponement of the rules. See this updated post here.
Another month has passed, and we are now ever closer to the effective date of the NLRB’s new posting rules.
Thus far, many of the legal challenges to the proposed rule have been ineffective, as the Employer Law Report recently noted.
Unless something dramatic occurs in the next three weeks, the NLRB’s new posting requirements will take effect on April 30, 2012. This applies to both unionized and non-unionized employers.
I’ve long felt that the publicity surrounding this rule was a bit overblown. As I noted in a prior post:
In this age of technology, employees don’t need to rely on posters in the back of a lunch room for information on their rights anymore. (And really, how many times have you REALLY seen employees even look at these.) They can use their smart phones to check out the NLRB website from anywhere.
But in addition to worrying about the posters, employers should use this new requirement as an opportunity to take a fresh look at their workplace policies and procedures. Among the issues that were identified by the Employer Law Report:
- Does your employee handbook prevent discussion among employees of wages or have any other restrictions that run afoul of the NLRA? …
- Are your managers aware of the NLRB posting and attuned to how best to respond to questions or concerns that might be raised by employees?
- Most important, have your managers been trained in and are they committed to the kind of management behavior and communication with workers that makes employees less susceptible to union organizing efforts?
Three weeks to go. Are you ready?