By Kent Hoover | Washington Business Journal
A federal appeals court ruled the National Labor Relations Board can’t force businesses to display posters informing their employees of their right to form a union.
The rule was scheduled to go into effect last year, but it’s been on hold due to legal challenges by business groups. They contended the only purpose of the NLRB’s poster requirement was to promote unionization of the work force.
Today the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C., ruled the NLRB exceeded its authority when it issued the poster rule, which treated failure to display the notice as an unfair labor practice. The National Labor Relations Act “simply does not authorize the board to impose on an employer a freestanding obligation to educate its employees on the fine points of labor relations law,” wrote Judge Karen LeCraft Henderson.
Unions and the NLRB itself are free to do that, and do so, she noted.
“This ruling is a great victory for employers – particularly small employers – around the country, said Rose Law Group attorney David Weissman.
“The NLRB’s unprecedented expansion of its authority in recent years has created much concern for employers, including employers without a unionized workforce. There is simply no basis for the NLRB to require employers to educate their employees on the advantages of unionization, and it is good to see the court finally say that enough is enough. That said, employers should nonetheless be aware of the NLRB’s recent activities and rulings (for example, the limits it has placed on employer social media policies) and should review their policy manuals carefully to ensure they are in compliance,” Weissman advised.
If you’d like to discuss employment or health care law, contact David Weissman, director of the Rose Law Group Employment Law and Managed Health Care Law Practice, dweissman@roselawgroup.com
