Last Thursday, the Department of Labor's Office of Labor-Management Standards issued final rules requiring federal contractors and subcontractors to post notice to employees of their rights under federal labor laws. The new poster follows President Obama's January 30, 2009 Executive Order requiring contractors to advise employees of their rights to organize and collectively bargain with their employers under the National Labor Relations Act.

In another Executive Order, President Obama ended requirements that contractors post notices advising employees of their so-called Beck rights to avoid having union dues used for certain political purposes. The new posting requirement must be included in any subcontracts prepared by federal contractors. Failure to adhere to these requirements can result in the suspension or cancellation of the contract, and possible debarment of the federal contractor.

The new posters must be in place by June 21, 2010. If the employer has a significant percentage of its workforce that does not speak English, the posters must be translated into those primary languages (translated posters can be obtained from DOL). The new posters can be obtained at http://www.dol.gov/olms/regs/compliance/EmployeeRightsPoster11x17_Final.pdf.