D.C. Circuit Rules NLRB Recess Appointments Unconstitutional

The ruling places in substantial doubt the validity of any NLRB decision or action since January 4, 2012, and calls into question the scope of the president's recess appointment power more generally.

On January 25, in Noel Canning v. National Labor Relations Board, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit unanimously ruled that President Barack Obama's three recess appointments to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB or Board) in January 2012 were unconstitutional.¹ This decision has potentially far-reaching effects as it calls into question the validity of NLRB decisions since the appointments, as well as the president's recess appointment power generally.