Yesterday, the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) announced that it has postponed the implementation of its new a rule which requires virtually all private employers to post notices about workers’ rights under the National Labor Relations Act. Originally, employers were supposed to post the notice by November 14, 2011. Now, employers are not required to post the notice until January 31, 2012.
The NLRB cited compliance concerns as the reason for the delay. Not surprisingly, some employers simply do not understand that the NLRB’s posting requirement applies to them, and the NLRB stated that it will use the extra time to provide “enhanced education and outreach to employers,” thereby ensuring “broad voluntary compliance.”
Absent from the NLRB’s press release was any mention of any of the pending legal challenges to the posting rule. In one such case, the National Federation of Independent Business (“NFIB”) asked a federal court in D.C. on September 28, 2011, to temporarily enjoin the NLRB from enforcing the posting rule. The court has yet to rule on the NFIB’s motion, but the NLRB’s decision to delay implementation of the posting rule certainly removes much of the urgency that prompted the NFIB’s motion.
Bottom Line
Despite the delay in implementation, the legal challenges have not halted the status of the NLRB’s posting rule. As a result, employers should assume they will be required to comply with the posting rule and post the notice on or before January 31, 2012. The NLRB has published its Employee Rights Poster on its website (a printer-friendly version is available here).
Stay tuned for further developments.