A federal district court just ruled that the new National Labor Relations Act posting requirement is unlawful. At the present time, it is unclear what the effect of this ruling is on the April 30 posting deadline. HR Informant will be updating you as soon as possible on the effect of this ruling for California employers.

Last year, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) promulgated a rule requiring most private sector employers to post a notice informing employees of their rights under the NLRA. The rule was set to take effect on April 30, 2012. 

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce challenged the rule as an unlawful exercise of the NLRB’s authority.

A federal district court in South Carolina agreed, ruling that the NLRB exceeded its authority in violation of the federal Administrative Procedure Act (APA): “The court finds that the Board lacks the authority to promulgate the notice-posting rule. As such, the rule is unlawful under the APA … .” 

Today, a federal district court for the District of Columbia issued a decision in a lawsuit brought by the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) challenging the new NLRA posting requirement. The court upheld the posting requirement, but struck down some of the enforcement provisions relating to the new rule.

As previously reported, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) decided to require most private-sector employers to post a new notice entitled "Employee Rights Under the National Labor Relations Act." NAM challenged the posting requirement on multiple legal grounds, including arguments that the posting requirement exceeded the NLRB’s authority under the NLRA and that the requirement violated employers’ First Amendment free speech rights.

In the first decision on this issue, the federal court issued a split decision upholding part of the new rule, while overturning other provisions. The court ruled that: