Protecting Employers Since 1985

April 2012

By: Richard H. Wessels, Esq.

Late in the day on Friday, April 13, 2012, a Federal District Court Judge in Charleston, South Carolina issued a decision striking down the NLRB’s pro-union poster requirement. As you know, the notice-posting rule was to take effect April 30, 2012. Now we have a confusing situation. Last month, a Federal Court Judge in Washington D.C. upheld the authority of the NLRB to require this pro-union posting. Obviously, this South Carolina decision is a big setback for the NLRB in its effects to require employers to post this notice. With the two conflicting federal court decisions, there is lack of clarity about what should be done. It is likely that the April 30 deadline for posting is no longer in effect, but we will have to wait for guidance from the NLRB as to what they are going to do. It is significant that, in the South Carolina decision, the court did not issue an injunction prohibiting the Board from enforcing the poster requirement. The Board may yet again postpone the implementation schedule. Remember that there is precedent for this, and because of the litigation, the original date of November 14, 2011 was postponed to January 30, and again to April 30. Our guess is that it will be postponed again, but that is not at all certain. We will keep you advised as we learn more, and certainly there should be guidance from the NLRB shortly. Meanwhile, if any of you would like a copy of the South Carolina decision, contact Ashlei Stare in our St. Charles office at (630) 377-1554.

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