Appeals court strikes down NLRB poster rule The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit has affirmed a lower court decision that the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) went too far when it required employers to post a notice of employee rights. "Because the Board is nowhere charged with informing employees of their rights under the NLRA (National Labor Relations Act), we find no indication in the plain language of the Act that Congress intended to grant the Board the authority to promulgate such a requirement," the Appeals Court stated in the decision for the case, Chamber of Commerce v. NLRB. The decision, issued on June 14, affirms a ruling from the District Court of South Carolina. In addition, it agrees with a ruling issued on May 7 by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, which also struck down the posting requirement. The NLRB had issued a rule in 2011 requiring employers to post a notice telling employees of their rights under the NLRA. The requirement was scheduled to go into effect in April 2012, but has been on hold because of legal challenges. The NLRB said it introduced the rule to fill a knowledge gap and make employees aware of their NLRA rights. The Fourth Circuit Court, however, agreed with the Chamber of Commerce that the NLRA does not require employers who have not committed labor violations to be subject to a duty to post employee notices. "The NLRB serves expressly reactive roles: conducting representation elections and resolving ULP (unfair labor practice) charges," the decision written by Justice Allyson K. Duncan stated, adding that none of the sections in the NLRA give the Board the authority to issue the notice-posting rule of its own accord. While the board may have a laudable goal of educating workers, nothing in the NLRA suggests that employers must bear the burden of filling the knowledge gap, the decision said. In addition, Congress did not grant the Board the statutory authority to create notice requirements, as was granted to other federal agencies, the Court pointed out. Agencies such as the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and Occupational Safety and Health Administration have the power to proactively file charges and undertake investigations, and have been granted the authority to require the posting of notices. "Had Congress intended to grant the NLRB the power to require the posting of employee rights notices, it could have amended the NLRA to do so," the Court’s decision stated.
Posted on: Wed, 19 Jun 2013 17:32:26 +0000
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