This morning, in NLRB v. Noel Canning, the U.S. Supreme Court held that President Obama exceeded his authority in making recess appointment to fill vacancies on the NLRB in 2012.
A copy of the opinion is here: http://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/13pdf/12-1281_bodg.pdf
If you read the early analysis around the Web, you will see people calling this opinion “narrow” and “limited.” Make no mistake. If you are an employer, this case is huge. It likely means that every case decided by the NLRB during the time of the recess appointments (January 2012 – July 2013) is void. That’s a whole bunch of NLRB decisions out the window, including some of its cutting edge, and controversial, decisions on issues such as social media and protected concerted activity.
Stay tuned for more analysis of this critical Supreme Court decision.