According to a National Labor Relations Board press release on January 6, 2014, the Board has decided not to seek Supreme Court review of two U.S. Court of Appeals decisions invalidating the NLRB’s Notice Posting Rule. This decision means the end to a hotly contested labor law regulation which would have required most private sector employers to post a notice of employee rights in the workplace.
The National Labor Relations Board was created under National Labor Relations Act as an independent federal agency that protects the rights of private sector employees to join together, with or without a union, to improve their wages and working conditions. However, in May 2013 the D.C. Circuit Court held in National Association of Manufacturers v. NLRB that the NLRB had gone too far with the Notice Posting Rule. It ruled that the Notice Posting Rule infringed on employers’ rights under Section 8(c) of the NLRA by forcing them to disseminate a message that they did not create. Just a few months later, in June 2013, the 4th Circuit Court followed, ruling that the NLRB had exceeded its authority under the NLRA and that the NLRA does not give the board the rulemaking authority to impose such a regulation on employers.
Although the NLRB has given up the fight to continue the mandatory Notice Posting Rule, the NLRB maintains that it is still committed to ensuring that workers, businesses and labor organizations are informed of their rights and obligations under the NLRA. The NLRB stated through its January 6th press release that it will continue its national outreach program and keep the workplace poster accessible to employers that wish to voluntarily display it in the workplace.
Lisa Okasinski is a licensed attorney in the State of California. Please contact Demorest Law Firm if you would like more information about this topic.
