diff --git a/.github/workflows/merge-checks.yml b/.github/workflows/merge-checks.yml
index 6561c429e2..c9f7957389 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/merge-checks.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/merge-checks.yml
@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@ jobs:
         run: |
           set -x pipefail
           status_state="pending"
-          if ${{ contains(github.event.*.labels.*.name, 'design-approved') }}; then
+          if ${{ contains(github.event.pull_request.labels.*.name, 'design-approved') && !contains(github.event.pull_request.labels.*.name, 'after-next-version') }}; then
             status_state="success"
           else
             resp="$(curl -sSL --fail-with-body \