On April 17, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit
issued a temporary injunction postponing the implementation of the
National Labor Relations Board's rule requiring most private
employers in the United States to post a notice informing employees
of their right to join labor unions and engage in other concerted
activities under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA).
(National Ass'n. of Manufacturers v. NLRB, Case No.
12-5068 (D.C. Cir. April 17, 2012)).
The NLRB's notice posting rule had been scheduled to take
effect on April 30 but was challenged by employer groups in
separate cases in two U.S. district courts. On March 2, the U.S.
District Court for the District of Columbia upheld the obligation
to post the notice but invalidated certain enforcement procedures
prescribed in the NLRB's rule. (National Ass'n. of
Manufacturers v. NLRB, Case No. 1:11-cv-01629-ABJ (D.D.C.
March 2, 2012)). On Friday, April 13, the U.S. District Court for
the District of South Carolina issued an order enjoining the entire
rule, concluding that the NLRB did not have authority under the
NLRA to require notice posting by private employers. (U.S.
Chamber of Commerce v. NLRB, Case No. 2:11-cv-02516-DCN
(D.S.C. Apr. 13, 2012)).
Given the uncertainty regarding enforcement of the NLRB's rule,
the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals granted an emergency motion
enjoining the NLRB's notice posting requirement pending an
expedited appeal of the decision of the D.C. District Court. The
effective date of the NLRB's rule is now postponed until at
least September 2012, when oral arguments are to be scheduled in
the case. The compulsory notice posting is described in detail in
our Jones Day Commentary titled "NLRB Issues Rule
Mandating Notices Informing Employees About Rights to
Organize," dated September 2011 and available
here.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
