Earlier this week, the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit struck down the National Labor Relations Board’s (“NLRB”) poster rule. In 2011, the NLRB issued a rule requiring private employers (union and non-union) to post a specific notice informing employees of their right to unionize under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). See blog post “NLRB Issues Final Rule Requiring Posting of Notice to Employees.” Last year, a federal district court in South Carolina held this rule to be invalid and prevented the NLRB from implementing the rule pending the outcome of that appeal before the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals.
In National Association of Manufacturers v. NLRB, the D.C. Circuit held that the NLRB did not have the rulemaking authority to require employers to post this notice because employers have the “right not to speak” about unions and compelling them to do so would violate the NLRA. It is possible that the NLRB will seek an en banc review of the D.C. Circuit or appeal the decision to the United States Supreme Court but in the meantime you can keep that NLRB poster filed away.
