Supreme Court Invalidates Former NLRB Appointees

The Supreme Court narrowed the definition of a Senate “recess,” invalidating three National Labor Relations Board appointments President Obama made during a brief Senate break in 2012. The Court in NLRB v. Noel Canning held that presidents may exercise their interim appointment powers only during a recess that lasts 10 days or more. Current members in the Democratic majority board are not contested  because they were appointed after a late 2013 rule change that made it impossible for Republicans to continue to block Obama appointees with a filibuster. However, as a result of the Court’s ruling hundreds of decisions made during the period when the three invalid recess appointees were on the Board will need to be revisited.