| The General Counsel of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has issued a clarifying memorandum to regional directors and other NLRB officials setting out the implications of charitable fund raising activities.
The Board has maintained a long-standing rule that employers who enforce a non-solicitation or non-distribution rule against unions, but permit solicitation and distribution for others, compromise the rule.
If there are too many exceptions, the rule cannot be enforced against unions or union activity.
Over time the NLRB has softened its position a bit The workplace is an important location for charitable giving, and any enforcement policy that would absolutely prohibit any workplace charitable campaigns would be socially irresponsible.
The Board’s enforcement policy now is that an employer may permit a small number of isolated charitable acts and solicitations without compromising enforcement of a non-solicitation rule as long as these really are exceptions — small in number and brief in duration.
This means employers can permit limited fund raising and charitable solicitation in the workplace, particularly in light of the Sept. 11 attack, and still reinforce the non-solicitation/non-distribution rule. However, the exceptions must be limited in number and duration. | 
