A National Labor Relations Board final rule will require all employers subject to the National Labor Relations Act, including most hospitals, to post a notice informing employees of their rights under the Act. The rule will take effect 75 days after its publication in the Aug. 30 Federal Register.
"Informing employees of their statutory rights is central to advancing the NLRA's promise of 'full freedom of association, self-organization, and designation of representatives of their own choosing,'" the rule states. "It is fundamental to employees' exercise of their rights that [they] know both their basic rights and where they can go to seek help in understanding [them]."
NLRB made only minor clarifications to the final notice related to employee rights and unlawful union conduct, a copy of which can be found in the Appendix to Subpart A of the rule. Under the final rule, employers must "post and maintain the notice in conspicuous places, including all places where notices to employees are customarily posted."
However, employers will not be required to distribute the notice via e-mail, voice mail, text messaging or related electronic communications even if they customarily communicate with their employees in that manner. Employers also must "take reasonable steps to ensure that the notices are not altered, defaced or covered by any other material, or otherwise rendered unreadable."
If 20% or more of employees are not proficient in English but speak the same foreign language, the employer must post the notice in that language, but only after the NLRB makes the notice available in that language. Failing to post the notice may be an unfair labor practice, and a "knowing and willful" failure to post may be evidence of unlawful motive in an unfair labor practice case.
[ via AHA News Now ]
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