D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals Grants Injunction Precluding Implementation of NLRB Notice Posting Rule

April 17, 2012

By: Subhash Viswanathan

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit issued an Order today granting an injunction precluding the National Labor Relations Board from implementing its notice posting rule, pending appeal of a lower court decision upholding the validity of the rule.  The notice posting rule was scheduled to go into effect on April 30, 2012, but employers will not be required to comply with the rule until the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals has had the opportunity to determine whether the NLRB exceeded its authority under the National Labor Relations Act by issuing the rule.

In its Order granting the injunction, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals noted that the NLRB voluntarily postponed implementation of the notice posting rule during the pendency of the proceedings before the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, which seemed to undercut the NLRB's argument that the rule should take effect during the pendency of the appeal.  The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals also noted that the NLRB indicated an intent to cross-appeal the portion of the District Court's decision that invalidated certain enforcement provisions of the rule, which created some uncertainty regarding the manner in which the rule will be enforced.

Prior to the issuance of this injunction, U.S. District Courts in two separate jurisdictions had issued conflicting decisions regarding the validity of the notice posting rule.  The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia held in March that the NLRB had the authority to require employers to post the notice, but did not have the authority to issue a blanket rule that failure to post the required notice will be considered an unfair labor practice and did not have the authority to permit tolling of the six-month statute of limitations for unfair labor practice charges in situations where an employer fails to post the required notice.  However, the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina held on April 13, 2012 that the NLRB did not even have the authority to require employers to post the notice.  In its Order granting the injunction, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals cited the recent U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina decision.

According to the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals Order, briefing of the appeal is expected to be completed by June 29, 2012, and oral argument is expected to be scheduled in September 2012.