Late Friday afternoon (April 13, 2012), the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina blocked the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) from mandating its NLRA (National Labor Relations Act) Employee Rights Poster that was due to be posted no later than April 30 by virtually every private employers in the United States.
The ruling cited the board's lack of statutory authority to issue such a mandate. The court's ruling states:
The court does not discredit the Board’s factual finding of a need for the notice posting rule. It may or may not be true that an increased need exists today for employees to learn of their NLRA rights; the court respects the Board’s decision on that issue, as expert agencies like the Board are granted leeway to make factual determinations. The problem with the Board’s argument 'is not the soundness of its labor policy,' as 'the Board is entitled to judge that without our constant second-guessing'; it 'is that the policy cannot be given effect through this statutory text.' NLRB v. Ky. River Cmty. Care, Inc., 532 U.S. 706, 720 (2001).
Based on the plain language and structure of the Act, the court finds that the Board lacks authority under Section 6 to promulgate the notice-posting rule.
The case was Chamber of Commerce v. NLRB. Read the ruling here.