The Chamber of Commerce, along with the South Carolina Chamber of Commerce, filed a lawsuit Tuesday in that state, alleging that the NLRB's rule violates federal labor and regulatory laws as well as the First Amendment, according to a Chamber press release.
The rule, which took effect on Nov. 14, 2011, serves as an "unfair labor practice" because companies could be subject to significant fines for failure to comply. It declines to include "a description the fundamental rights of employees to be free of compulsory union membership and compulsory union dues," according to the Chamber.
It also violates employers' First Amendment rights by forcing them to post the NLRB's "ideological views on unionizing," the Chamber said.
"At a time when the private sector is striving to create desperately needed new jobs, it is disappointing to see that the NLRB is imposing new and unnecessary regulations on employers," Randy Johnson, the Chamber's senior vice president for Labor, Immigration, and Employee Benefits, said in a statement. "The latest rule is part of the NLRB's pattern of tipping the scale in favor of unions, at the expense of employers and employees alike."
Nancy Cleeland, director of public affairs at NLRB, rebuffed the Chamber of Commerce's claims, saying the board is authorized to issue such mandates under the National Labor Relations Act.
"The rule... explains that the posting of this notice, which is available at no charge on the NLRB website, is simply intended to inform employees of their rights under the National Labor Relations Act, just as other workplace posters inform employees of their rights under other laws," Cleeland said in a statement.
