Our Troutman Sanders LLP Labor & Employment Group just sent out an Advisory on the NLRB’s Union Rights Poster Rule. In a nutshell, the Rule — which requires employers to put up posters informing employees of their rights under the National Labor Relations Act — was supposed to go into effect on April 30, 2012. However, a federal district court last week found the rule to be invalid.
Further, while an earlier federal court decision upheld part of the rule, that decision is on appeal and the appellate court just issued an order stopping the rule for going into effect on April 30 and putting it “on ice” until the appeal can be decided. It will likely be at least September 2012, if not later, before that appeal is decided. Oh, and what ever that decision is, the case may end up in the U.S. Supreme Court before all is said and done.
You can read all the details on these court decisions here. But the key points for HR professionals to understand now are: (1) no posters need to go up by April 30, and (2) stay tuned for more developments.