Notice of Employee Rights

Concerning Payment of Union Dues

Executive Order 13201 (E.O. 13201)
Who is Covered
Executive Order 13201 (E.O. 13201) covers government contractors and
subcontractors with a contract equal to or above the Simplified Acquisition
Threshold of $100,000, which was entered into on or after April 28, 2004, and
resulted from solicitations issued on or after April 18, 2001.

Basic Provisions / Requirements

E.O. 13201 requires government contractors to post a notice (the Beck Poster)
informing their employees that they have certain rights related to union membership
and use of union dues and fees under federal law. These contractors must include
an employee notice clause in subcontracts or purchase orders entered into in
connection with a covered contract. The employee notice clause requires
subcontractors to also post the notice, and to include the requirement in further
subcontracts.
The posting requirement does not apply to contractor establishments or construction
work sites in jurisdiction where state law forbids enforcement of union-security
agreements. The posting requirement also does not apply to contractor
establishments or construction work sites where no union has been formally
recognized by the contractor or certified as the exclusive bargaining representative.
The posting requirement does not apply to contractor establishments or construction
work sites that involve a prime contractor and one or more subcontractors at a single
site where the prime contractor, i.e., the person holding the contract with the
government contracting agency, has not formally recognized a union and where
no union has been certified as the exclusive bargaining representative of the prime
contractor’s employees.
The E.O. 13201 poster informs employees of their rights under the decisions of the
Supreme Court in Communications Workers of America v. Beck, 487 U.S. 735 (1988),
and related cases. Under federal law, employees cannot be required to join a
union or maintain membership in a union in order to retain their jobs. Under certain
conditions, the law permits a union and an employer to enter into a union-security
agreement requiring employees to pay uniform periodic dues and initiation fees.
However, employees who are not union members can object to the use of their
payments for certain purposes and can only be required to pay their share of
union costs relating to collective bargaining, contract administration, and
grievance adjustment.

The Employment Law Guide is offered as a public resource. It does not create new legal obligations and it
is not a substitute for the U.S. Code, Federal Register, and Code of Federal Regulations as the official sources
of applicable law. Every effort has been made to ensure that the information provided is complete and
accurate as of the time of publication, and this will continue. Later versions of this Guide will be offered at
www.dol.gov/compliance or by calling our Toll-Free Help Line at 1–866– 4–USA–DOL (1–866– 487–2365).

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If employees do not want to pay that portion of dues or fees used to support
activities not related to collective bargaining, contract administration, or grievance
adjustment, they are entitled to an appropriate reduction in their payment. If an
employee believes that he / she has been required to pay dues or fees used in part
to support activities not related to collective bargaining, contract administration,
or grievance adjustment, that employee may be entitled to a refund and to an
appropriate reduction in future payments. Further information concerning these
rights is available from the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). To locate
the nearest NLRB office, see their Web site at www.nlrb.gov or call toll-free
1– 866 –667– 6572.

Employee Rights
Complaints alleging violations of E.O. 13201 may be filed with any office of the
Employment Standards Administration’s Office of Labor-Management Standards
(OLMS) (www.dol.gov/esa/olms_org.htm) or Office of Federal Contract Compliance
Programs (OFCCP) (www.dol.gov/esa/ofccp/).

Compliance Assistance Available

Additional information and compliance assistance about E.O. 13201 and the posting
requirement, including copies of the poster, are available on the Executive Order
13201 Compliance Assistance page (www.dol.gov/esa/regs/compliance/olms/
EO13201_CA.htm) of the Department of Labor’s Office of Labor-Management
Standards (OLMS) Web site (www.dol.gov/esa/olms_org.htm) or by calling the
Department’s Toll-Free Help Line 1–866–4–USA–DOL (1–866–487–2365).

Penalties / Sanctions
If, after administrative enforcement proceedings, the Assistant Secretary for
Employment Standards finds that a contractor has violated the Executive Order,
the Assistant Secretary may:
■ Direct a contracting agency to cancel, terminate, suspend, or cause to be
canceled, terminated, or suspended, any contract or any portions thereof, for
failure of the contractor to comply with its contractual provisions as required by
section 2 of E.O. 13201 and the implementing regulations. Contracts may be
canceled, terminated, or suspended absolutely, or continuance of contracts
may be conditioned upon compliance;
■ Issue an order of debarment under section 6(b) of the Order providing that one
or more contracting agencies must refrain from entering into further contracts, or
extensions or other modification of existing contracts, with any non-complying
contractor.

Relation to State, Local, and Other Federal Laws

The employee rights described in the E.O. 13201 poster are based on Supreme
Court decisions involving the Labor Management Relations Act, 1947, and the Railway
Labor Act. The posting requirement does not apply to contractor establishments
or construction work sites in jurisdiction where state law forbids enforcement of
union-security agreements.

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