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In another significant blow to the National Labor Relations Board's (Board) controversial rule requiring employers to post notices informing employees of their rights under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), today a federal appeals court granted an injunction that delays the effective date of rule. The rule was previously planned to go into effect on April 30, 2012.
Last month (click here for our prior legal update), a federal district court in Washington, D.C. ruled that the Board may lawfully require employers to post a notice of employee rights, but it exceeded its authority by enacting the part of the rule that provides certain penalties for failing to post a notice. The National Association of Manufacturers (NAM), which challenged the posting rule, appealed the district court's decision to the United States Circuit Court of appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. In connection with that appeal, the NAM argued that the appeals court should enter an injunction postponing the effective date of the rule to allow it to resolve the merits of the appeal.
Today, the appeals court agreed with NAM and entered an injunction preventing the Board from implementing the rule while the court considers the issues.
While the Court is still considering the merits as to the notice posting rule's legality, for the time being the Board is precluded from implementing the posting requirement. The DC Circuit's decision is a significant development for employers everywhere. This injunction, when considered in light of last week's ruling by a federal district court in South Carolina that the entirety of the Board's proposed rule is invalid, means that employers nationwide have a good faith basis for refusing to post the notice pending the resolution of these cases.
If you have questions about the proposed posting rule or how this development affects your business, contact any of Faegre Baker Daniels' labor lawyers.
