In a significant ruling, U.S. District Judge Beryl A. Howell stated that former President Donald Trump's firing of a member of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) violated the National Labor Relations Act. In a detailed 36-page memo, Judge Howell, an appointee from the Obama era, emphasized that Trump's interpretation of his constitutional powers was fundamentally incorrect. Howell's ruling comes amid ongoing scrutiny of Trump's actions surrounding the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, where she oversaw numerous criminal cases.
The ruling marks the third occasion on which a federal judge has determined that Trump unlawfully dismissed Senate-confirmed officials from independent agencies. This pattern of firings has raised serious concerns about the boundaries of presidential power. On March 1, a different judge from the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia blocked Trump's attempt to remove Hampton Dellinger, the head of the Office of Special Counsel, which investigates whistleblower complaints. However, an appeals court later ruled in favor of Trump, allowing him to proceed with Dellinger's removal.
In a separate case on Tuesday, another judge prohibited the termination of the chair of the federal Merit Systems Protection Board, an agency designed to protect government employees from political discrimination. The Trump administration has appealed both rulings and is anticipated to challenge Howell's decision regarding Wilcox.
Legal experts suggest that these cases could be expedited to the Supreme Court, where the conservative majority may be sympathetic to arguments advocating for broad presidential authority over independent agencies. The officials dismissed by Trump argue that their firings violate established precedent, which maintains that the president cannot remove members of independent bodies without just cause.
In the case of Wilcox, NLRB members are protected under the law established in 1935, which stipulates that the president can only dismiss members for neglect of duty or misconduct. Wilcox's termination represents a historic first, marking the first instance of a president firing an NLRB member.
During a March 5 District Court hearing, Deepak Gupta, a notable Supreme Court litigator representing Wilcox, expressed that her firing was an attempt to overturn a 1935 Supreme Court decision safeguarding board members of independent federal agencies from presidential dismissal. “The notion that the NLRB possesses executive powers akin to those of a cabinet department is fundamentally flawed,” Gupta stated.
This ruling raises concerns about the implications for workers' rights and the functionality of the NLRB. Wilcox's termination has left the NLRB with only two members, leading to a paralysis in the agency's operations. While basic functions like union elections can proceed, the NLRB is unable to adjudicate cases involving labor law violations without a full complement of three members.
Benjamin Sachs, a labor professor at Harvard Law School, remarked, “Firing Wilcox deprives workers of the only agency that can ensure their legal right to unionize and collectively bargain. This has enormous ramifications for workers across the nation.” Furthermore, certain employers, including CVS and Whole Foods, have taken advantage of this situation to contest NLRB decisions, leaving workers without viable paths for union contracts or recourse against illegal union-busting activities.
In seeking to terminate Wilcox—whose five-year term was due to end in 2028—the government cited a 2020 Supreme Court ruling regarding the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which granted the president authority over multi-member agency boards, except where they lack “substantial executive power.” Legal experts assert that Congress intentionally established independence for federal agencies, such as the Securities and Exchange Commission, Federal Reserve, and Federal Trade Commission, to allow for unbiased legal interpretation free from presidential influence.
This story is still developing, and further updates will be provided as more information becomes available.
