On December 30, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) will publish in the Federal Register that it is postponing its requirement that employers subject to NLRB jurisdiction post a notice informing its employees of their rights under federal labor law. It first announced this decision on December 23. This delay, until April 30, 2012, is the second time the NLRB has changed the rule’s effective date. The August 30 rule required the posting in November. The NLRB first extended the effective date to January 31, stating that additional time was needed “in order to allow for enhanced education and outreach to employers.” This extension is due to lawsuits questioning the legitimacy of the NLRB regulation.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and National Association of Manufacturers filed lawsuits, respectively, in federal courts in South Carolina and Washington, DC, challenging the validity of the August 30 rule.

This extension follows the suggestion of the judge sitting on the DC case that “postponing the effective date of the rule would facilitate the resolution of the legal challenges that have been filed with respect to the rule.” Whether one agrees or not with the posting, this seems to be a logical conclusion.

Like other postings that the Department of Labor requires, the NLRB would require employers to post an 11-inch-by-17-inch notice form describing employee rights, and to publish the notice on an intranet or internet site if the employer customarily uses that format to advise employees about its rules and policies.