NGA Agrees with US Court of Appeals Decision on NLRB Appointments

Jan 25, 2013

Arlington, VA - NGA agrees with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit's decision today in Noel Canning v. National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) that appointments to the NLRB were "constitutionally invalid and the Board therefore lacked quorum." 

The case challenged President Obama's recess appointments to the Board as being unconstitutional and on those grounds the Court found the NLRB lacked a quorum of three legal Members to act since last January.

The Court noted, "The Board conceded at oral argument that the appointments at issue were not made during the intersession recess: The President made his three appointments to the Board on January 4, 2012, after Congress began a new session on January 3 and while that new session continued. Considering the text, history and structure of the Constitution, these appointments were invalid from their inception."

 NGA President & CEO, Peter Larkin, stated: "NGA believes that the Constitutional separation of powers is important, and the unconstitutional appointments in this case illustrate those limits were surpassed. Looking forward, we will continue to support efforts to curtail excessive and burdensome regulations and to ensure a level playing field for employees and employers." 

Over the past few years, NGA has joined with others to provide significant support to the legal challenges of a number of recent NLRB decisions, including Noel Canning, and against proposed actions that infringe on the rights of employers and employees.


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