US Labor Board Declines to Defend Law Protecting Democratic Member from Trump’s Firing

The US National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has decided to stop defending a law that prevents president Trump from removing board members at will. This shift comes as President Donald Trump seeks to oust Democratic NLRB member Gwynne Wilcox. Just last week, a federal judge in Washington, DC ruled that Trump could not fire Wilcox but the administration soon filed an appeal for the decision. 

The labor board has now notified courts in at least six cases that it supports the argument that removal protections for NLRB members and administrative judges are unconstitutional. The NLRB’s change in stance follows a letter from acting US Solicitor General Sarah Harris who asserted these protections violate the Constitution. 

Indeed, Patrick Semmens of the National Right to Work Foundation claims that these types of protections basically allow the board to dictate labor policy, immune from accountability. The ruling of the Supreme Court invalidating those protections would make a substantial shift in the independence of the board. 

Lauren McFerran, former Chair of the NLRB voiced worries that such a change could lead to an absence of neutrality in labor decisions heightening fears about decision-making influenced by politics in the enforcement of labor rights.