NLRB Bets on Full Sixth Circuit to Revive Critical Board Power

The National Labor Relations Board is putting its hopes of restoring one of its core powers in the full Sixth Circuit, a conservative federal appeals court that has ruled against the agency in key cases in recent years.

The NLRB asked the US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit for en banc review of a case that threatens the board’s ability to set labor law policy through individual case decisions rather than regulations. A previous panel of judges dealt a blow to the agency along partisan lines, with Republican-appointed judges in the majority and a Democratic appointee dissenting.

While ...