HR Talk: Bulletin Boards

August 28, 2012

Bulletin boards are essential for the workplace—but when was the last time you really used yours? If you’re having trouble answering this question—or if the cobwebs hanging from the board tell the story all too well—you may be missing out on some of the many advantages of the company bulletin board.

Legal Requirements

Use the bulletin board to comply with your legal requirements to post state and federal information, including such items as the OSHA 300 log. It’s the employer’s responsibility to ensure this information is posted during the legally mandated time periods and the posters themselves are maintained and up to date.

Union Bulletin Boards

If your company is unionized, you may have negotiated a provision for the union to have a bulletin board, or share a space on the company board. If you’re allowing the union to post information, rules governing the information that the union is permitted to post are critical. Rules can include a prohibition on items that are ridiculing, defamatory or disparaging towards individuals, for example. The rules should also specify whether the materials must be reviewed or signed off by a member of management before posting, and who has the right to remove items from the board.

In many cases the union board can be a useful tool to build the employee-employer relationship, disseminating information jointly released from the labor management committee, for example. But tread carefully—even seemingly insignificant actions can be viewed as serious depending on the timing of the incident. For example, an employer who removes certain union postings immediately before a representation election can face an unfair practice charge.

Virtual Bulletin Boards

In today’s workplace, some employers question whether a physical bulletin board is still relevant or needed. As we spend more and more time online, a virtual board can seem like the most logical option, and there are many advantages to the electronic approach. But there are several major advantages to the physical board that a virtual alternative will never replace:

Top Tips to Make the Most of Your Board