The U.S. Supreme Court last month decided the Noel Canning case, unanimously holding that President Obama’s proposed recess appointments of Terrence Flynn, Sharon Block and Richard Griffin to be members of the National Labor Relations Board were unconstitutional. The court reasoned that the brief Senate break in January 2012, during which time the appointments were made, was of insufficient length to be a “recess.” Thus, the court found the board order against the soda pop bottling company, Noel Canning, was invalid because the board lacked a quorum, as three of its five members were improperly appointed.
Noel Canning will have a significant impact on the board. Hundreds of board decisions between January 2012 (when the appointments were made) and August 2013 (when new appointees were confirmed by the Senate) will likely be invalidated and reconsidered by the current board, which now has a full contingent of five Senate-confirmed members.
