Noel Canning: Is It Much Ado About Nothing?

On January 13, 2014, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Noel Canning v. NLRB, a case that will determine whether three of President Barack Obama's appointments to the National Labor Relations Board were valid under the Constitution's Recess Appointments Clause. If the appointments are found to be invalid, the validity of hundreds of rulings issued while the recess appointees served will be called into question, wrote Stacey Smiricky, Kristen Wolfe and Stuart Buttrick of Faegre Baker Daniels in the Winter 2014 issue of The Illinois Manufacturer.

Smiricky, Wolfe and Buttrick explained the potential implications for manufacturers such as the plaintiff Noel Canning, particularly those who received an adverse decision by the NLRB while the recess appointees served. They explained that it's possible these rulings will be invalidated, but the NLRB will likely reissue them quickly. They also pointed out legislative efforts that have been undertaken to limit the NLRB's authority in the wake of the Noel Canning controversy.