The Law @ Work

NLRB Uses Technology to Ease Employee Access to Board Decisions

by Kimberly A. Klimczuk

QR codeWhen the National Labor Relations Board determines that an employer has committed an unfair labor practice, it requires the employer to post a notice to employees informing them of the violation(s) the NLRB found and the action that employer must take as a result, and advising employees of their rights under Federal labor law.  The required notice also contains a reference to the NLRB’s decision, but until last week, the notice did not include any information that would instruct employees how to find or obtain a copy of the decision.

On April 25, 2014, the NLRB decided in Durham School Services to change the language of its notices to include a hyperlink to the decision on the NLRB website as well as instructions on how to obtain a printed copy of the decision by phone or mail.  The Durham School Services decision also contained a printed Quick Response (QR) code that would enable an individual with a QR scanner (i.e., anyone with a smartphone) to scan the code and be directed to the case information on the NLRB’s website.  In its decision, the NLRB noted that “[m]aking the Board’s decisions and orders more readily accessible will facilitate a better understanding of what the [employer] did, why it was unlawful, and why the Board granted (or denied) particular remedies.”

The full text of the Board’s decision, as well as the briefs submitted by the parties, can be found here.

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