Trump’s Termination of Labor Board Member Overturned by Federal Judge

Gwynne Wilcox has been reinstated to the National Labor Relations Board.

Chief U.S. District Judge for the District of Columbia Beryl Howell in Washington in a file photograph. Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images

A federal judge on March 6 reinstated a member of a federal board, ruling that the president lacked the authority to fire board members.

“The President does not have the authority to terminate members of the National Labor Relations Board at will, and his attempt to fire plaintiff from her position on the Board was a blatant violation of the law,” U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell said in a 36-page decision.

She ordered Gwynne Wilcox, the member who was fired, reinstated.

The White House has not commented on the development.

The National Labor Relations Board works to protect workers who are working to unionize and prevent illegal labor practices.

Trump fired Wilcox on Jan. 27 because, a White House official said in the termination email, the board “is not presently fulfilling its responsibility to the American people.”

The official noted that the National Labor Relations Act states that board members can only be removed for neglect of duty or malfeasance, but “this limitation is inconsistent with the vesting of the executive Power in the President and his constitutional duty to take care that the laws are faithfully executed and thus does not operate as a restriction on my ability to remove Board members.”

Wilcox sued, referencing the law.

“The President’s removal of Ms. Wilcox without even purporting to identify any neglect of duty or malfeasance, and without notice or a hearing, defies ninety years of Supreme Court precedent that has ensured the independence of critical government agencies,” the lawsuit stated.

Under the precedent, established in a ruling called Humphrey’s Executor, some board members can only be removed for cause, rather than at will.

Government lawyers said in response that the Supreme Court decision does not apply to the National Labor Relations Board. The government has also said it will be asking the Supreme Court to overturn that decision.

Howell, the judge, said on March 6 that the government was wrong.

“Humphrey’s Executor and its progeny are binding on this court,” she said.

She said that the National Labor Relations Board fits within the scope of the ruling and that the ruling has not been repudiated.

The Trump administration will likely appeal the decision.

A federal judge in a separate case blocked the firing of Cathy Harris, the chair of the Merit Systems Protection Board, after finding her termination unlawful. In a third case, after a different judge said Trump illegally fired the head of the Office of Special Counsel without cause, an appeals court reversed the ruling and the former special counsel ended his legal fight.