May 20, 2010

With many of organized labor’s policy priorities held up in Congress, the Obama administration is starting to use the regulatory process to circumvent congressional action to benefit unions and other key constituencies. As such, it is not surprising that the Department of Labor (DOL) issued a rule on May 20th requiring many federal contractors and subcontractors to post a notice to employees of their rights to organize under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA).

The requirement is a direct result of one of the first executive orders issued by President Obama. Specifically, all federal contractors with government contracts of $100,000 or more (or subcontractors to a prime contractor with a subcontract valued at more than $10,000) must post notices stating that the NLRA guarantees the right of employees to organize and bargain collectively with their employers and to engage in other protected activity. Additionally, the document lists employee rights under the NLRA and unlawful union and employer activity.

The rule is effective starting June 21 and applies only to contracts entered into after that date. Employers who customarily post employee notes physically should place an exact duplicate of the Department’s supplied notice in an area normally used for such communications. Those who typically post notices electronically must do so by providing a link to the DOL’s website containing the notice.

The DOL is authorized to conduct compliance reviews and contractors found to not be in compliance could be sanctioned, including barred from future federal contracts.

DOL’s new rule is available here.

The required notice is available at here.