On March 6, 2025, a D.C. federal judge reinstated former National Labor Relations Board ("NLRB" or "Board") Member Gwynne A. Wilcox, restoring the Board to a quorum, which under the National Labor Relations Act ("NLRA" or the "Act") requires at least three members. See New Process Steel, L.P. v. NLRB, 560 U.S. 674 (2010).
In doing so, Judge Beryl Howell found that President Trump violated Section 3(a) of the Act, which stipulates that, "Any member of the Board may be removed by the President, upon notice and hearing, for neglect of duty or malfeasance in office, but for no other cause." 29 U.S.C. 153(a).
Wilcox was fired by President Trump on January 27, 2025, prior to which no president had ever terminated a Board member before the end of their five-year term, as we reported here. Wilcox now returns to the Board alongside Chair Marvin E. Kaplan and Member David M. Prouty.
The Trump administration will likely appeal Wilcox's reinstatement based on oral arguments, where it indicated that it views Section 3(a)'s removal protections as conflicting with Seila Law LLC v. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, 591 U.S. 197 (2020) and Humphrey's Executor v. United States, 295 U.S. 602 (1935), the 90-year-old Supreme Court precedent affirming Congress' power to limit the president's ability to remove officers of independent administrative agencies created by legislation, as we reported here.
During oral arguments, the Trump administration argued that the Act's removal protections...
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