JOIN | Home | Contact | Print | E-mail | Español

Federal court blocks NLRB regulation

On April 17, a federal court in Washington, D.C., issued an injunction blocking the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) from enforcing a regulation requiring employers to post a notice of employee rights in the workplace. The regulation was scheduled to take effect April 30 but now is on hold indefinitely pending further litigation regarding this matter.

The court issued an injunction as the result of a request by the Coalition for a Democratic Workplace (CDW), NRCA and other plaintiffs in a lawsuit challenging the regulation on the grounds the agency does not have the authority under law to issue the regulation. The court ruled in March the NLRB has the authority to issue the regulation but invalidated most of its enforcement mechanisms. This mixed ruling has been appealed by the CDW and other plaintiffs and by the NLRB.

The Washington, D.C., court issued its injunction April 17 in recognition of the pending appeals of its March decision and also in response to another decision in federal district court in South Carolina April 13. In that case, brought by the U.S. and South Carolina Chambers of Commerce, the court ruled the NLRB does not have the authority under federal law to issue the regulation. That decision may be appealed by the NLRB.

The appeal of the court ruling on the CDW/NRCA lawsuit is not expected to be ruled on until at least October; therefore, enforcement of the regulation has been put on hold until that time. Depending on the outcome of this litigation, the regulation possibly could be invalidated completely.

This is a significant interim victory for NRCA as a member of the coalition that filed the lawsuit that resulted in the injunction. NRCA represents union and open-shop contractors and supports policies that maintain an equitable balance in labor-management relations. NRCA opposes the NLRB posting regulation as unnecessary, biased and exceeding the board's authority under federal law. NRCA will continue working for balanced government policies in Washington, D.C., and challenging harmful regulations in court when necessary.

To view an announcement by the NLRB acknowledging the injunction that temporarily blocks implementation of the regulation, click here.

4/18/2012  

Comments (0) Login to post a comment

There are no comments posted.