N.L.R.A. Rights Poster - NYTimes.com There's a big poster in the pantry on the floor where I work about federal laws in the workplace. There's information on equal opportunity, health and safety, as well as a notice that my employer can't require me to take a lie-detector test. It would be disturbing if the powers that be at the Times wanted to hook me up to a polygraph, and it's good to know they would be out of line if they tried. The poster also summarizes New York law, including my right to take two paid hours off to vote, if needed, and to express breast milk at work, in private, if needed. But there's no poster in the pantry, and probably not where you work either, informing employees of their rights under the National Labor Relations Act. That's the law that gives workers the right to join together to seek better pay and working conditions, with or without a union. Under the N.L.R.A., it is illegal for an employer to punish organizers for trying to form a union. It is also illegal for unions to coerce employees to support a union. In unionized workplaces, the law requires employers and unions to bargain in good faith. So, why no poster? As it turns out, employees have rights under the N.L.R.A., but no right to be informed of those rights. In 2011, the National Labor Relations Board, which oversees federal labor law, tried to fix that glitch by issuing a rule requiring employers to post an informational notice in the workplace. The rule was prompted by evidence that young workers, recent immigrants and workers in nonunion companies were generally unaware of the law's guarantees and protections. The United States Chamber of Commerce and other industry organizations challenged the rule in court, delaying its implementation. On Tuesday, a federal appeals court ruled for business, saying that to punish an employer for failing to post a notice would violate the employer's free speech rights. Let's hope business doesn't take a dislike to clearly marked exits. The fact is, notices are required for all manner of laws, in the workplace and elsewhere, and are entirely justified as long as they are reasonably related to the law, as is clearly the case with the N.L.R.A. rule. Corporate executives and business owners are not against the rule because it threatens their right to free speech. It doesn't. And they are not against it because it is a monumental imposition. Obviously, it's not. They are against it because they don't want employees to know about their right to organize. It is no coincidence that the rule was struck down by the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. Four of the court's 11 seats are empty and no new judges have been confirmed since 2006, leaving the court with a marked pro-business, deregulatory bias at a time when Senate Republicans have delayed and blocked President Obama's judicial nominees. Click here to see the poster. Scroll down and click on "Employee Rights Under the N.L.R.A. poster." También disponible en Español! If employees hang it up in the coffee room, does that violate the employer's free speech rights? Or does it violate employees" free speech rights if the employer makes them take it down?