Assignment:
Reading Your Rights at Work
Posters by the U.S. Department of Labor and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission forming workers of their rights are familiar sights in the workplace. In 2012, the NLRB issued a Notice Posting Rule requiring most private-sector employers-regardless of whether their workers were unionized-to post a notice advising employees of their rights under the NLRA. Two federal appellate decisions invalidated this rule; the NLRB announced in 2014 that it would not seek review by the U.S. Supreme Court. Therefore, employers may choose not to post such a message. The workplace poster remains available on the NLRB website [see www.nlrb.gov/poster]. In addition, the NLRB has established a free NLRB mobile app for iPhone and Android users to provide the public with information about the National Labor Relations Act.
Questions
1. Legal requirements aside, are employers ethically obligated to inform their workers of NLRA rights? Explain.
2. From an ethical standpoint, should NLRA posting requirements be different for a nonunionized workplace versus a unionized workplace? Explain. Source: NLRB Office of Public Affairs, "The NLRB's Notice Posting Rule," January 6, 2014 [www.nlrb.gov/news-outreach/ news-story/nlrbs-notice-posting-rule].