How the NLRB’s lack of quorum is affecting employers

When President Joe Biden left office, the five-member National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) had two vacant positions. On January 27, 2025, President Donald Trump terminated sitting NLRB member Gwynne Wilcox without cause, despite the fact that the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) permits a president to terminate a Board member only for “neglect of duty or malfeasance in office.” With three vacant seats, the Board currently doesn’t have a quorum to issue regulations or decisions.

This spring, a federal district court and a federal appeals court both ordered that Wilcox be reinstated, but the U.S. Supreme Court has stayed (paused) Wilcox’s reinstatement as her case makes its way through the federal appeals process.

Background on the Board

The NLRA is a federal law that permits employees to unionize and gives nonunionized employees the right to engage in concerted activities related to their terms and conditions of employment. Passed in 1935, the Act also created the NLRB.

The NLRB is a federal administrative agency responsible for enforcing the NLRA. The president appoints each of the Board’s five members, with Senate consent. Each member serves a five-year term, with the term of one member expiring each year.

No quorum, no enforcement