New Workplace Posting Requirements Under Appeal

April 18, 2012

Employers in the State of California may be familiar with Federal and California commercial law regulations requiring that they post various fliers in conspicuous places for the benefit of their employees. These postings typically explain employee rights and responsibilities; wage, leave, and disability information; emergency and workplace injury procedures; and workplace safety information, among other things. A new federal regulation under the National Labor Relations Act, slated to take effect on April 30, 2012, requires that employers who meet certain criteria must hang an additional employee rights notice posting in a similarly conspicuous place. The purpose of the notice is to ensure that employees are properly informed about their rights to engage in collective bargaining. The proposed posting is to be hung wherever the employer posts similar labor-related rights information (often a break room or similar space). Additionally, the employers whom this law affects will be required to post a link to the same posting in a conspicuous place on the employer’s website, if applicable. NOTE: Employers in at least two jurisdictions have filed oppositions to the proposed law. The United States District Court for the District of Columbia upheld the National Labor Relations Board’s authority to enforce this provision of the National Labor Relations Act. The United States District Court for South Carolina held that the enforcement of this provision of the Act was not within the NLRB’s authority. In light of the conflicting judicial opinions, The District of Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals has granted a temporary injunction, which is currently barring the NLRB’s enforcement of the mandate. The NLRB is presently appealing the injunction.

How Do I Know if my Business Will be Subject to the New Law? The law is in a state of flux at the moment. Groups of employers are presently challenging the constitutionality of the workplace posting requirement. Additionally, not all employers are required to comply with the new regulation in its present form, depending on the nature and size of the business. In our area consider consulting a California business attorney to help you evaluate whether your business is among those required to post the new labor relations information.

The California Department of Industrial Relations maintains a resource page in an effort to inform business owners of their employee rights posting obligations. The types of postings you are obligated to maintain for your employees is dependent on the nature and size of the business you operate. Many postings are required of all employers, while others are tied to the number of employees employed by your business or the degree to which your employees engage in certain activities or expose themselves to certain substances or conditions.

Additionally, there are a number of federal posting requirements like the proposed collective bargaining rights provision above. The United States Department of Labor maintains a similar resource page to inform qualified employers about their employee rights posting obligations.

The Federal and State posting requirements – as we are presently seeing – are constantly changing. With the aid of a Sacramento business lawyer, you can examine whether your California business is complying with federal and California business laws.