On March 2, 2012, a Washington, D.C., federal judge affirmed the right of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to require both unionized and non-unionized employers to display the poster informing employees of their right to unionize and other rights under the NLRA, effective April 30, 2012.

The court’s decision follows a challenge filed in the fall of 2011 to the requirement that the notice be posted in all workplaces. In a partial win for employers, the judge invalidated the blanket rule that failing to post would constitute an unfair labor practice and toll the limitations period in unfair labor practice actions. Rather, the court held that the NLRB would be required to make specific findings stemming from the circumstances of a particular case before concluding that a failure to post hindered an employee’s exercise of his/her rights.

Employers should not read this ruling as a free pass to skip posting the notice.