NLRB changes notice requirement for workplaces affected by COVID-19

The National Labor Relations Board has modified the timing of its electronic notice-posting requirement when an employer has not yet reopened its facility due to COVID-19, or a substantial number of employees have not yet returned to work on site, and the employer is communicating with employees electronically.

Previously, the NLRB said that both physical and electronic notice posting could be deferred to within 14 days of the facility’s reopening and staffing by a substantial number of employees.

But in a June 2022 decision, a Board majority held that any required electronic notice posting must occur within 14 days after service by the regional office.

The Board decided that moving up the timing of the electronic notice posting in order to more quickly notify employees of unfair labor practices and the steps that would be taken to remedy those violations is more aligned with the intentions of the National Labor Relations Act.

“As our country continues [to] recover from the pandemic, it is important that the Board’s remedies remain relevant to the realities of the workforce,” said Chairman Lauren McFerran. “This prompt posting of the notice by electronic means will best effectuate the purposes of the National Labor Relations Act.”