Prof. Charlotte Garden Interviewed by In These Times About Diminished Power of NLRB

Professor Charlotte Garden, Julius E. Davis Professor of Law, was quoted by the labor news site In These Times about court cases that some say attack the legitimacy of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). In a recent case, a federal judge for the Northern District of Texas enjoined the NLRB from processing any allegations of employer violations of workers’ rights. In a similar case heard by the U.S. Supreme Court, SEC v Jarkesy, the ruling limited the power of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s law judges to levy fines. Some court watchers say the high court is inviting a challenge to similarly structured federal agencies, including the NLRB. Prof. Garden said she doesn’t see cases like these resulting in the total nullification of the NLRB. “What’s more likely,” she said, if the Supreme Court agrees with the Jarkesy argument, ​“is that the Court severs the good-cause provisions of the statute,” allowing NLRB board members to be fired for any reason. ​“That’s what passes for optimism these days.”