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LEGAL CHALLENGES TO NLRB POSTER RESULTS IN FURTHER DELAYS

Posted by in Employer-Employee Relationship, Business Management, Labor Relations / Comments

The NLRB has once again delayed the date that its somewhat controversial poster, required by the NLRB to be posted in all workplaces, must be posted.  As noted in prior blog posts, the poster was originally to be posted on or before November 14, 2011.  Legal challenges to the rule requiring the poster were filed, and as such the NLRB delayed its posting date to January 31, 2012.

Further legal challenges to the poster, and the time the NLRB needs to address these challenges are cited as the reasons for now changing the required posting implementation date to April 30, 2012.  No changes to the content of the required posting will result from this delay.  The criticism against the poster was almost instantly, with employers complaining that the NLRB is overreaching its authority and placing unnecessary additional burdens on employers.  Other criticism arose because almost all employers are required to post this poster, even if their workforce is not unionized, because the poster informs these employees of their rights to unionize.  In a prior blog post, some of the deficiencies to the poster, in that author’s opinion, were identified.

In other NLRB news, this week three individuals were sworn in to the NLRB by President Obama to fill vacancies on the Board, giving the NLRB a full five member panel for the first time since August of 2010.  These appointments were immediately criticized by many, in part because of the way these appointments were made.  Prior efforts to appoint individuals to these vacancies were denied because the Senate would not vote to approve Mr. Obama’s nominations.  During a brief congressional recess Mr. Obama exercised his authority to issue recess-appointments, filling the NLRB vacancies.  Such an action was necessary to keep the NLRB up and running as the NLRB lost its third member on January 3, 2012, and the NLRB requires a minimum of a three person quorum to take essentially any action.