On December 5, 2025, a divided D.C. Circuit panel held that for-cause job-removal protections for members of the National Labor Relations Board ("NLRB" or "Board")...
On December 5, 2025, a divided D.C. Circuit panel held that for-cause job-removal protections for members of the National Labor Relations Board ("NLRB" or "Board") and Merit Systems Protection Board are unconstitutional because they violate Article II.
The ruling has immediate consequences for the NLRB and sets up a direct confrontation with longstanding Supreme Court precedent, with the potential to reshape the structure and independence of multimember agencies like the Board.
Without a quorum, the NLRB cannot issue decisions on appeals from administrative law judge ("ALJ") rulings in unfair labor practice cases, effectively stalling such cases indefinitely.
Background
Under Section 3 of the National Labor Relations Act ("NLRA" or "Act"), the Board consists of up to five members appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate. Members serve five-year terms and "may be removed by the President, upon notice and hearing, for neglect of duty or malfeasance in office, but for no other cause."
In January 2025, President Trump terminated Board Member Gwynne A. Wilcox before the end of her term—reportedly the first such removal of an NLRB member mid-term. In May 2025, the Supreme Court stayed court orders reinstating Wilcox and remanded to the D.C. Circuit to decide the legality of her removal, setting the...
Prosecutors have indicted four individuals accused of falsely reporting sexual crimes, including a person who claimed to have been "raped" after being caught in an extramarital affair despite havi...