Labor Department’s In-House Judges Pass Constitutional Test (1)

The US Labor Department’s appointment process for administrative law judges satisfies constitutional requirements, the Fourth Circuit said, rejecting an employer’s bid to ditch an in-house judge’s order to pay a coal miner’s benefits.

Former Labor Secretary Alex Acosta ratified the appointment of the first ALJ to handle K&R Contractors LLC’s administrative proceeding and directly appointed the second, so their appointments are constitutional, the US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit said Tuesday.

The decision comes in the lead up to a US Supreme Court test of administrative law judges handling civil cases.

The high court will hear oral argument ...