Court tosses NLRB regulation mandating worker rights notice
The National Labor Relations Board went to far when it ordered employers to post a notice informing workers that they have a right to organize and bargain collectively, a federal appeals court said.
In a 3-0 decision issued Tuesday, the U.S. Appeals Court for the District of Columbia said the 2011 so-called poster rule exceeded the NLRB’s authority.
“This is great news for employers and employees alike,” Geoff Burr, vice president of federal affairs for the Associated Builders and Contractors, part of a coalition of business groups that sued to stop the regulation.
ABC attorney Maurice Baskin argued the case before the court.
“The NLRB’s notice posting rule is a perfect example of how the pro-union board has abandoned its role as a neutral enforcer and arbiter of labor law,” Burr said. “The poster was flawed from the beginning when it only detailed how workers have the right to join a union, but omitted their rights to decertify a union. ABC will continue to fight the NLRB’s politically motivated policies that threaten to paralyze the construction industry in order to benefit the special interests of politically powerful unions.”
Unions had hoped the rule would help boost the numbers of organized private sector workers. AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka called the court's ruling absurd.
“In today’s workplace, employers are required to display posters explaining wage and hour rights, health and safety and discrimination laws, even emergency escape routes,” he said. “The D.C. Circuit ruling suggests that courts should strike down hundreds of notice requirements, not only those that inform workers about their rights and warn them of hazards, but also those on cigarette packages, in home mortgages and many other areas.”
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