Yes, employers will be required to post that controversial NLRB poster by April 30, a judge has ruled. But there’s some good news: Failing to exhibit the poster can’t — by itself — be grounds for an unfair labor practice charge.
Yeah, it’s confusing. Here’s how it all shakes out.
The National Association of Manufacturers filed suit against the National Labor Relations Board, claiming the NLRB overstepped its legal bounds by issuing the edict that the poster must be hung in workplaces across America.
Business groups have complained that the poster is way too pro-union. Here’s how it reads, in part:
Under the (National Labor Relations Act), you have the right to:
- Organize a union to negotiate with your employer concerning your wages, hours, and other terms and conditions of employment.
- Form, join or assist a union.
- Bargain collectively through representatives of employees’ own choosing for a contract with your employer setting your wages, benefits, hours, and other working conditions.
- Discuss your wages and benefits and other terms and conditions of employment or union organizing with your co-workers or a union.
- Take action with one or more co-workers to improve your working conditions by, among other means, raising work-related complaints directly with your employer or with a government agency, and seeking help from a union.
- Strike and picket, depending on the purpose or means of the strike or the picketing.
- Chose not to do any of these activities, including joining or remaining a member of a union.
So the NAM filed its lawsuit in an attempt to quash the posting requirement.
In a nutshell, the judge ruled that the NLRB didn’t exceed its authority by issuing the posting requirement — but it also ruled that the enforcement section of the rule failed “as a matter of law.”
“An employer’s mere failure to supply information” doesn’t rise to the level of a labor law violation, the judge said, adding that it’s possible, in some cases, that the failure to post the information could be a factor in determining whether a violation had occurred.
The case is National Association of Manufacturers v. National Labor Relations Board. To read the full decision, go here.
