NLRB Punts on Challenge to Top Lawyer, Deferring to Courts (1)

The National Labor Relations Board declined to rule on whether the agency’s acting general counsel was legally appointed, saying that federal courts are responsible for answering such questions.

The NLRB also said in its Friday order that it can’t remedy an invalid general counsel appointment—aside from partially or completely shutting down the agency’s operations, which conflicts with its duty to administer federal labor law.

The board has received a series of similar legal challenges filed in the wake of the White House’s Inauguration Day termination of Trump-era General Counsel Peter Robb, its sacking of Robb’s top deputy, and ...