Tagged: Collective Bargaining
As previously reported in the Employment Law Alert, the National Labor Relations Board (the “Board” or “NLRB”) recently issued a final rule requiring most private-sector employers to post a notice of employee rights to unionize in their workplaces. On October 5, 2011, the Board announced that it is delaying the posting’s effective date from November 14, 2011 until January 31, 2012 “in order to allow for enhanced education and outreach to employers, particularly those who operate small and medium sized businesses.”
The National Labor Relations Board (the “Board” or “NLRB”) recently issued a final rule requiring most private-sector employers to post a notice of employee rights under the National Labor Relations Act (the “Act” or “NLRA”) in their workplaces. (Chapter 1 of the Board’s An Outline of Law and Procedure in Representation Cases details which employers fall within the Act’s jurisdiction.) Business and industry associations, including the United States Chamber of Commerce, the National Association of Manufacturers, and the National Federation of Independent Business have filed suits challenging the Board’s authority to issue such a rule. Absent a decision by the courts that, in the words of NLRB Member Brian Hayes — who issued a dissent to the rule (starting at page 54037) — would “rescue the Board from itself and restore the law to where it was before the sorcerer’s apprentice sent it askew,” employers must post the notice by November 14, 2011.
On June 22, 2011, the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) published proposed rule changes in the Federal Register, which, if enacted, will dramatically accelerate the timeframes for union representation elections. One day earlier, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Labor-Management Standards (“DOL”) published proposed rules to narrow the interpretation of the term “advice” as it pertains to the persuader reporting requirements set forth within Section 203 of the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959 (“LMRDA”). Together, these proposed changes create new burdens for employers who wish to communicate with employees about collective bargaining and workplace unionization. If enacted, the practical result of these proposed changes (whether intended or not) is that they will create tactical advantages for organized labor that will in turn help unions win an increased number of representation elections.
