On April 17, 2012, the District of Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals issued an emergency injunction delaying enforcement of the National Labor Relations Board's (NLRB's) notice-posting rule (National Association of Manufacturers v. NLRB). The ruling is just the latest twist in the posting-rule saga, which has seen an extended comment period, multiple lawsuits, delayed implementation, conflicting court decisions, and now an emergency injunction prohibiting enforcement. For now, the NLRB is prohibited from requiring employers to post notices apprising employees of their rights to organize unions pending the full resolution of the appeal on the merits. As such, employers are not required to post the notice on April 30, 2012.

Background

On August 30, 2011, the NLRB promulgated its Final Rule, "Notification of Employee Rights under the National Labor Relations Act." 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. More information on the details of the posting requirement can be found in this recent WSGR Alert.