Why it matters: The app makes it even easier for employees to learn about their rights under the NLRA and to contact the NLRB with any questions or concerns. The release is only the latest step in the Board’s educational efforts, following a revamped website and a proposed rule requiring employers to hang posters detailing employees’ rights in the workplace, a move shot down by multiple federal courts.
Detailed Discussion
The National Labor Relations Board has gone mobile, releasing a free app for both iPhone and Android users.
In a statement, the Board said the move is part of its efforts to reach employees with information about their rights. The agency received more than 82,000 inquiries last year about work-related issues and “this app can help provide the answers,” NLRB Chairman Mark Pearce said in a statement. “The promise of law can only be fulfilled when employers and employees understand their rights and obligations.”
The app offers information for employees, employers, and unions. For example, it walks users through the process the NLRB uses in elections held to determine whether employees want to be represented by a union; it also explains what rights are afforded employees under the National Labor Relations Act.
Specific topics covered by the app include employees’ right to engage in protected concerted activity and what that includes, with specific examples such as talking with coworkers about wages or other working conditions.
Social media, an issue on the Board’s radar recently, is addressed. Employees are informed by the app of their right to engage on sites such as Facebook and YouTube about work-related issues. Other topics include strikes, pickets, and protests.
The app also makes contacting the Board easier. A “CONTACT NLRB” button can take users to a page with contact information for the closest NLRB office or for calling the Board directly.
