Today, the U.S. Court Court for the D.C. Circuit struck down a rule proposed by the NLRB that required employers to post workplace notices describing employees' rights to form a union or face a possible unfair labor practice charge. You can read the decision, National Association of Manufacturers v. NLRB, or click here for a summary of the decision posted at Workplace Prof Blog. Click here for links to our earlier posts on this topic.
There has been much written about the NLRB rule requiring employers- even those without unionized workforces- to a notice about union rights. Click here, here, here, here, and here for earlier blog entries. On April 17, 2012, the United States Court of Apeal for the D.C. Circuit barred enforcement of the rule, at least for now, while litigation is pending.
More to come...
The NLRB’s new notice-posting requirement is one step closer to reality as the United States District Court for the District of Columbia has, in National Ass'n of Manufacturers v. National Labor Relations Board, dismissed a claim by various business groups claiming that the NLRB had overstepped its rulemaking authority in requiring the notice.
Employers with 50 or more employees in 20 or more workweeks in the current or preceding calendar year, including joint employers and successors to covered employers, must comply with the Family and Medical Leave Act (“FMLA”). The FMLA requires covered employers to comply with various notification requirements, and allows employers to obtain medical certifications from employees requesting leave. The Department of Labor (“DOL”) has authored various form notices and certifications, which employers may choose to use.
The DOL-drafted forms expire on January 31, 2012. New forms, which have been submitted to the United States Office of Management and Budget, are not likely to be approved before the old forms expire. Nevertheless, under the law, expired forms may continue to be used while new forms are awaiting approval.
But – and this is important – the soon-to-expire forms do not include the “safe harbor” language under the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act, which tells employees and their medical providers that they should not provide “genetic information” when responding to a request for certification.
The NLRB has postponed the implementation date for its new notice-posting rule three more months – from January 31, 2012 to April 30, 2012. The rule would require businesses to post notices apprising workers of their right to unionize. This is the second time the NLRB has postponed its implementation, this time doing so at the request of a federal court presiding over a case started by various business groups that are challenging the legality of the rule. The NLRB recognized that the three-month postponement will “facilitate the resolution of the legal challenges that have been filed with respect to the rule.” You can read our previous posts regarding this rule here, here, and here, and the NLRB’s latest press release here. We will continue to update you as events unfold.
The start of a new year often means new laws for California employers to follow, and new administrative burdens for them to bear. The start of 2012 will be no exception. Effective January 1, 2012, California employers must comply with California’s new Wage Theft Protection Act, Labor Code Section 2810.5. This new California law, which is similar to the New York Wage Theft Protection Act, requires employers to provide certain employees with a written notice containing the following wage-related and employer information:
This alert serves as a reminder that the New York Wage Theft Prevention Act requires employers to provide annual pay notices to all of their employees (whether full-time or part-time, exempt or non-exempt) between January 1 and February 1, 2012. For seasonal employees who are not working during this period, employers must provide annual pay notices to these employees as soon as they return to work from their time away.
Were you aware that on November 7, 2011, the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development (NJ DOL) released a six-page notice regarding a New Jersey employer’s obligation to maintain and report employment records relating to payment of wages, unemployment compensation, temporary disability benefits, workers compensation, taxes, and Family Leave Insurance Benefits? I was not, until I read an alert authored by my colleague, Jennifer DiMarco.
Click here to read the full alert.
