Labor Law Caught in Constitutional Crisis

March 25, 2013  |  New York Law Journal

President Obama and Congressional Republicans are in the midst of a constitutional showdown over the President's recess appointment power. President Obama's appointees to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) aggressively expanded the rights of employees and unions throughout 2012. Now in Noel Canning v. NLRB (January 25, 2013), the D.C. Circuit has held that the President's recess appointments to the NLRB are unconstitutional, likely leading to a Supreme Court resolution of this showdown that could drastically change the direction of federal labor law. This article examines the Noel Canning decision and its impact on the NLRB's recent expansion of employee rights.

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