Top NLRB Lawyer’s Firing Muddies Future Labor Enforcement (1)

The unprecedented ouster of the National Labor Relations Board’s top lawyer will spark litigation over the Biden administration’s authority to remove him that has the potential to undermine his successor’s work, former agency attorneys and officials said.

Regardless of whether Peter Robb fights his termination in court, individual employers that get hit with unfair labor practice complaints will challenge their validity, board watchers said. Companies can argue that whoever takes the general counsel reins lacks the power to authorize complaints because Robb’s removal was illegal.

“Any management lawyer worth their salt should raise as an affirmative defense that the complaint ...