New Required Federal Poster Updates – Effective Immediately!

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It was recently announced that required updates have been made to the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and Employee Polygraph Protection Act (EPPA) posters (effective in August). We are now shipping our new poster sets that include these updates! Here are the changes reflected on our new sets:

  • FLSA: Effective August 1, 2016, a new FLSA poster is required. The update includes new information about the overtime rule, independent contractors and nursing mothers. Outdated fine information was also removed.
  • EPPA: Also effective August 1, the EPPA poster will be updated. Outdated fine information was also removed from this poster and contact information was updated.
  • FMLA: The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) posting was updated in April 2016 to be more reader-friendly. This update is included in our latest sets.

You can purchase new sets online.

Or, are you tired of trying to keep up with poster changes? We’re happy to take the pressure off at no added cost. Just subscribe to the Indiana Chamber’s convenient, free subscription service online or by calling (800) 824-6885. You’ll get new posters whenever there’s a required update without even having to order! You’ll join hundreds of other Indiana businesses already benefiting from this service.

Court Strikes Down Controversial NLRB Poster Requirement

This issue has been kicked back and forth in the court system in the last couple of years. There finally appears to be some closure, much to the relief of America's business community. The Hill reports:

Industry groups, which quickly challenged the rule after it was issued, cheered the ruling. Jay Timmons, the president and chief executive of the National Association of Manufacturers, pledged to remain vigilant against the “rogue” NLRB.

“The poster rule is a prime example of a government agency that seeks to fundamentally change the way employers and employees communicate,” Timmons said in a statement. “The ultimate result of the NLRB’s intrusion would be to create hostile work environments where none exist.”

Judge A. Raymond Randolph, who wrote the decision for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, suggested the rule was a clear violation of free speech rights because the government “selected the message and ordered its citizens to convey that message.”

Freedom of speech, Randolph wrote, “includes both the right to speak freely and the right to refrain from speaking at all.”

The court did not rule on whether the union poster regulations were constitutional, deciding only that the NLRB exceeded its legal mandate…

Business groups argue the NLRB has favored unions under President Obama's administration and pointed to the poster rule as one of the most egregious examples.
 
“Today’s decision is a monumental victory for small-business owners across this country who have been subject to the illegal actions of a labor board that has consistently failed to act as a neutral arbiter, as the law contemplates,” Karen Harned, executive director of National Federation of Independent Business's Small Business Legal Center, said in a statement.

The advocacy group National Right to Work called the NLRB’s poster rule an “outrageous effort to transform itself into a taxpayer-funded arm of union organizing.”

This is the second major court defeat for the NLRB in recent weeks. The same appeals court ruled in January that Obama’s recess appointments to the board were illegal and therefore invalid. The independent agency is tasked with prosecuting unfair labor practices and conducting union elections.

“Stopping the NLRB’s burdensome agenda of placing itself into manufacturers’ day-to-day business operations is essential to preventing further government-inflicted damage to employee relations in the United States,” Timmons said.

NLRB April 30 Posting Requirement Blocked for Now

The National Labor Relations Board’s posting requirement that was set to take effect on April 30 has been postponed… AGAIN. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit Tuesday issued an injunction prohibiting enforcement of the rule until an appeal of a lower court’s decision upholding the rule (but voiding some penalties) has been decided. Oral arguments in the case are currently scheduled for September.
 
Tuesday’s ruling follows last Friday’s decision by a federal court in South Carolina that struck down the posting requirement, leading to confusion over what is now required. Implementation of the posting requirement is now on hold until further notice.
 

New NLRB Poster Requirement: Place Your Pre-orders Now

We want to let you know that on August 25, the National Labor Relations Board approved a new mandatory posting for private employers regarding the National Labor Relations Act.

You can pre-order new poster sets on our web site or call (800) 824-6885. Or better yet, join hundreds of Hoosier businesses by signing up for our poster subscription service. With this service, we’ll just send you new poster sets when MANDATORY changes are made. This gives you peace of mind of not having to track updates to keep your company in compliance. The service itself costs nothing extra; you just pay for the posters as you normally would. (Poster sets are $45 each and Indiana Chamber members receive 25% off.)

The new poster has not yet been released by the NLRB, but expect your new poster set(s) about two weeks after it is. (The new NLRB notice must be posted by November 14.)

NOTE: As this is an additional notice, our sets will likely once again include three sheets instead of two. This will not impact the cost on your end, however.