The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) January 6 its controversial “Employee Rights” notice poster rule after deciding not to file a petition for the U.S. Supreme Court to review two U.S. Court of Appeals decisions invalidating the notice posting rule. The rule would have required employers to display a poster in their workplace that contained a biased and incomplete list of employee rights under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). 

The notice posting rule has been in response to a request by the ABC-led Coalition for a Democratic Workplace, National Association of Manufacturers (NAM), and the National Right to Work Legal Defense and Education Fund. The notice posting rule was primarily on the grounds that it violated free speech rights afforded to employers under the NLRA. The the NLRB exceeded its authority when it adopted the rule but said it did not need to address the free speech issue because the NLRB should not have promulgated the rule in the first place.

老牛影视General Counsel Maurice Baskin, a shareholder with Littler, argued the case before the D.C. Circuit in September 2012, stating it would force some 6 million employers around the country to communicate a pro-union message to their employees. Mr. Baskin also pointed out that the board could not show that Congress expressly or implicitly delegated authority to issue the rule and that it violates the plain language of numerous provisions of the NLRA, including Section 8(c), which states “expressing of any views shall not constitute or be evidence of an unfair labor practice.”

After the NLRB’s request for a rehearing was , an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court was the last chance to overturn the ruling. However, the board allowed the Jan. 2 filing deadline to pass.  
  
COMPLIANCE NOTE: This ruling does not change the compliance requirements for federal contractors under Executive Order 13496 (or its subsequent 2010 implementing regulations) to post a similar notice from the DOL, but this rule is now facing its own .