Labor Board Sees Another Texas Judge Freeze Enforcement Case
Source: Bloomberg Law
Sept. 17, 2024, 12:09 PM EDT
A public benefits corporation won a court order preventing the National Labor Relations Board from moving forward with an unfair labor practice case alleging it illegally fired a slew of union organizers. Findhelp became the third company Monday to obtain a preliminary injunction halting NLRB enforcement from a Trump-appointed judge in Texas, following SpaceX and an Energy Transfer LP subsidiary.
Judge Mark Pittman ruled on Findhelp’s claim that NLRB administrative law judges are unconstitutionally shielded from being fired by the president, citing US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit precedent similarly disapproving of those removal protections for the Securities and Exchange Commission’s in-house judges.
Two federal judges outside of the Fifth Circuit—an Obama appointee in Michigan and a Biden appointee in Illinois—have rejected preliminary injunction requests that attacked the constitutionality of NLRB ALJs’ removal protections. The deepening of the divide raises the chances of the US Supreme Court eventually settling the debate.
In the meantime, employers appear to face favorable odds to win court injunctions if they sue in Texas, Louisiana, or Mississippi—thanks to the Fifth Circuit’s precedent on ALJ firing shields.
Read more: https://news.bloomberglaw.com/daily-labor-report/labor-board-sees-another-texas-judge-freeze-enforcement-case
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