FELS.net

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia on April 17 temporarily blocked the National Labor Relations Board from requiring employers with employees covered by the National Labor Relations Act to post an NRLA Employee Rights notice.

The appellate court said the NLRB’s rule, which was to have taken effect on April 30, cannot be implemented, if at all, until the federal judiciary has resolved the underlying legal issues.

Federal district courts in the District of Columbia and in South Carolina had reached opposite­ opinions on the NLRB’s authority to require the notice’s posting.

The March 2012 ruling in National Association of Manufacturers v. NLRB, issued by the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, held that the NLRB has the authority under federal law to require employers covered by the National Labor Relations Act to post a notice in the workplace informing their employees of their rights under the NLRA. FELS Subscribers can read more by clicking here . . . . .

Yet, on April 13, 2012, a federal district court in South Carolina invalidated the National Labor Relations Board's (NLRB) notice posting rule, which would have required most employers to post a notice regarding the rights of employees to organize and join a union. The court held that the NLRB "exceeded its authority in violation of the Administrative Procedures Act." What remains to be seen is whether the NLRB will now voluntarily delay implementation of the notice posting rule until the resolution of all appeals, or whether the plaintiffs will be forced to apply to the court for a permanent injunction to prohibit enforcement of the rule on a nationwide basis. Chamber of Commerce of the United States v. NLRB, No. 2:11-cv-02516-DCN, U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina (April 13, 2012). 

Click here to view the NLRB’s latest press release. 

For further information about jurisdiction and posting requirements, please see our Frequently Asked Questions, which will be updated frequently as new questions arise. For questions that do not appear on the list, or to arrange for an NLRB presentation on the rule, please contact the agency at questions@nlrb.gov or 866-667-NLRB.