Employers expecting to have to post new notices of employee rights in the workplace can breathe a sigh of relief. On April 17, 2012, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia issued an injunction delaying the effective date of the National Labor Relations Board’s Final Rule requiring most employers to post a notice of employee rights in their workplaces. The Final Rule, previously scheduled to take effect on April 30, 2012, has now been postponed indefinitely due to conflicting opinions issued by several federal district courts.

Judge Amy Berman Jackson of the U. S. District Court for the District of Columbia issued a ruling on March 2, 2012, that upheld the NLRB’s authority to enact the Final Rule but invalidated the primary enforcement mechanisms. However, on April 13, 2012, Judge David C. Norton of the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina struck down the Final Rule in its entirety in Chamber of Commerce v. NLRB, No. 2:11-cv-02516-DCN. Judge Norton held that by enacting the Final Rule, the NLRB exceeded its statutory authority in violation of the Administrative Procedure Act.

As a result of the conflicting opinions, the D.C. Circuit enjoined the enforcement of the Final Rule pending appeal. NLRB Chairman Mark Gaston Pearce expressed the Board's opposition to the order but confirmed that all regional offices have been directed to comply with the injunction. The D.C. Circuit ordered an expedited briefing schedule and directed the court clerk to schedule oral argument in September.

Stay tuned...