Yesterday, we looked at some of the rights employees have under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). Today, some of the things unions are not allowed to do – plus a convenient resource that will ensure you’re always up to date on the various state and federal posting requirements, with a minimum of effort on your part.
Union Don’ts
Unions are not allowed to do the following:
- threaten or coerce employees to gain support for the union
- refuse to process a grievance because the employee has criticized union officials or is not a member of the union
- use or maintain discriminatory standards or procedures in making job referrals from a hiring hall
- cause or attempt to cause an employer to discriminate against an employee because of his or her union-related activity
- take adverse action against an employee because he or she has not joined or does not support the union
Posting Requirements
Every private employer whose workplace falls under the NLRA must post the new 11-by-17-inch notice in the same location that other workplace notices are typically posted.
It’s important to remember that NLRA rights apply to union and nonunion workplaces, so even nonunionized workplaces must comply with the notice requirement. The NLRA does, however, exclude agricultural, railroad, and airline employers.
Get the new NLRB poster and more with our California Required Notices Package.
Those employers that customarily post notices regarding personnel rules or policies on an Internet or intranet site must post the notice on these sites as well. And if at least 20 percent of the employees in your workplace aren’t proficient in English, you must post appropriate translated versions in addition to the English version
Consequences of Noncompliance
According to the NLRB’s final rule, an employer’s failure to post the notice would be found to be an unfair labor practice – specifically, interfering with, restraining, or coercing employees in the exercise of their NLRA rights.
The NLRB, however, recognizes that most employers that fail to post the notice will simply be unaware of the rule and will comply when requested to do so by an NLRB agent. In such cases, the unfair labor practice would usually be closed without further action.
That’s not to say that you risk no serious consequences by failing to post the notice as required. The final rule allows the NLRB to extend the six-month statute of limitations (from the occurrence of the allegedly unlawful conduct) for employee charges involving other unfair labor practice allegations against the employer if the notice isn’t posted. The board reasoned that employees deserve extra time if, because of the lack of notice, they weren’t aware of their rights.
And if you “knowingly and willfully” fail to post the notice, that failure may be deemed evidence — though not conclusive evidence — of unlawful motive in an unfair labor practice case involving other alleged violations of the NLRA.
Lots of Required Postings and Notices for California Employers
As you’re undoubtedly aware, you’re required to post a wide assortment of state and federal notices at your workplace. And if you fail to do it — even if you have the best of intentions — you open yourself up to a wide array of costly fines and penalties.
Sometimes the best thing you can do to ensure consistency in your recordkeeping duties is to turn a portion of them over to someone else. And that’s where we come in.
We’ve done all the running around for you and gathered together in one place:
- Your required state postings
- Your required federal postings
- Your required Wage Order poster
- 20 copies each of five mandatory pamphlets
Best of all, you only need to think about it once: At the start of every year, we’ll send you a brand-new, fully updated package, so that you can be sure you’ve got the most updated information available. You’ll get:
1. California Employee Notice Poster. Includes the following notices:
- Whistleblower protection
- Notice to Employees: Unemployment Insurance Benefits
- Access to Medical and Exposure Records
- Time Off to Vote
- Payday Notice
- Safety and Health Protection on the Job
- “Notice A”—Pregnancy Disability Leave
- “Notice B”—Family Care and Medical Leave (CFRA Leave) and Pregnancy Disability Leave
- Notice to Employees—Injuries Caused By Work (in both English and Spanish)
- Discrimination and Harassment in Employment are Prohibited by Law
- Notice to Employees: Reporting Wage Credits for UI, DI, and PFL
- California Minimum Wage
2. Federal Employee Notice Poster. Includes the following notices:
- New NLRB Employee Rights poster
- Employee Rights and Responsibilities Under the Family and Medical Leave Act
- Your Rights Under USERRA
- Employee Rights Under the Fair Labor Standards Act/Federal Minimum Wage
- Equal Employment Opportunity is The Law
- Notice: Employee Polygraph Protection Act
- Job Safety and Health: It’s the law!
3. Wage Order poster. Your choice of:
- Manufacturing Industry
- Personal Services Industry
- Professional, Technical, Clerical, Mechanical & similar occupations (offices only)
- Restaurant, Public Housekeeping
- Mercantile Industry, Retail Outlets
- Transportation
- Amusement and Recreation
- Certain Occupations in Construction, Drilling, Logging and Mining
4. Twenty (20) copies each of five mandatory pamphlets:
- The Facts About Sexual Harassment: Must be distributed to all new hires (we recommend distributing a new copy along with any sexual harassment training you perform as well).
- Paid Family Leave: Must be distributed to new hires and employees taking paid family leave.
- Disability Insurance Provisions: Must be distributed to new hires and employees taking covered leave.
- For Your Benefit: California’s Programs for the Unemployed: Must be distributed to any employee who is terminated or laid off, or who goes on a leave of absence.
- Department of Workers’ Compensation “Time of Hire” pamphlet
All for just $99. It’s a deal you can’t beat — order today, risk free.
Need just the posters, or just the pamphlets? We can do that, too.
Download your free copy of How To Survive an Employee Lawsuit: 10 Tips for Success today!