This week the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit issued an order preventing the NLRB’s posting rule from going into effect. As you will recall, the rule required employers to post the employee notice poster by April 30, 2012. 

The Court of Appeals’ action was prompted by the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina’s recent ruling that held that the NLRB did not have the authority to require employers to post the employee notice. This ruling conflicted with the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia’s ruling last month that held that the NLRB had the authority to require the posting, but struck down other portions of the rule.

The Court of Appeals concluded that given the uncertainty about enforcement of the NLRB’s rule, the better course was to preserve the status quo and stay the implementation of the NLRB’s rule.

There is no hard date when the Court of Appeals will decide whether the posting rule is enforceable. The Court is expected to hear arguments on this matter in September, 2012, and it is unlikely that any ruling would come down before then.