Alert: NLRA rights poster on hold by D.C. appeals court

The District of Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals today issued an order putting the National Labor Relations Board’s new posting requirement on indefinite hold while it considers an appeal of a lower court’s ruling (National Association of Manufacturers v. NLRB (order granting motion for emergency injunction), DC Cir, April 17, 2012). The Board’s posting requirement had been scheduled to be effective on April 30, 2012. 

The decision that is being appealed is a ruling by a federal district court in the District of Columbia that upheld the Board’s right to require employers to display a poster explaining workers’ rights under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) (National Association of Manufacturers v. NLRB, D DC, March 2, 2012). The D.C. appeals court acted swiftly today because on April 13, a federal district court in South Carolina ruled that the Board lacks the authority to require employers to display the poster, creating a split in the federal courts (U.S. Chamber of Commerce v. NLRB, D SC, April 13, 2012). The South Carolina court hasn’t yet issued orders that will implement its ruling, but today the Board announced it won’t enforce the posting requirement until the issue is resolved by the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals. Today’s order means that the poster will be on hold until late 2012 at the earliest, since the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals won’t have an opportunity to hear oral arguments on the appeal until September 2012.