New NLRB convenes in uncertainty

The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), with a quorum of three, has once again become a functioning agency, but in an unprecedented setting and facing unprecedented challenges.

Captive Board?

With the termination of Member Gwynne Wilcox all but finally resolved, this Board is the first comprised of atwill employees, serving at the pleasure of the president. Having lost its independence, it is an open question of how the Board will respond. Long considered the most politically freighted federal agency, some outside observers believe the transition from covert to overt political influence will be unnoticeable.

Nonetheless, the Board’s rulings will now have the stamp of political taint as never before. As a practical matter, that may have no effect on the parties, but the nation’s first “super-agency” will have lost its luster. In light of this, the Board may work to demonstrate its fairness in its early rulings, but the threat of White House intervention looms.

Are precedents secure?