On October 5, 2011, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) announced that it was postponing the effective date of its new rule requiring employers to post a notice regarding employees’ union rights from November 14, 2011, to January, 31, 2012. The new rule, found at 29 C.F.R. § 104.202, requires all employers covered by the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) to post a notice informing employees of their rights to, among other things, form a union, join a union, assist a union, or refrain from doing any of these things. Under the rule, covered employers must post the notice in a conspicuous spot and make it available on the company’s intranet. Failure to comply with the rule may result in an unfair-labor-practice charge against the employer. More information on the details of the new posting requirement can be found in this recent WSGR Alert.

The new rule has been highly controversial since the NLRB first proposed it in December 2010. Indeed, the comment period on the proposed rule was extended in light of the intense interest it generated, much of it negative. This scrutiny has only increased since the NLRB formally enacted the rule and set an initial deadline of November 14, 2011, for compliance.