National Labor Relations Board member Gwynne Wilcox, a Democrat who President Donald Trump removed from the labor dispute panel long before her five-year term was set to expire, wants the U.S. Appeals Court in Washington, D.C. to review a hold on her reinstatement after a lower court ruled that her termination was illegal.

The board oversees union organizing and collective bargaining disputes and hears cases where violations of the National Labor Relations Act are alleged. an An independent federal agency, the board has been without a quorum since January, when Wilcox was fired, along with Jennifer Abruzzo, general counsel, and Jessica Rutter, deputy general counsel.

Wilcox’ term wasn’t set to expire until August 2028.

The board needs at least three members to be
able to adjudicate cases and create new policies through rulemakings.
After terminating Abruzzo, Trump named Republican William Cowen, a
previous board member, to serve as acting general counsel.

That enables
operations and administration activities of the board to continue even
without a quorum. On March 25, Trump nominated Crystal Carey a Morgan Lewis law firm labor attorney, to serve as general counsel. All political nominations need to be confirmed by the U.S. Senate. 

Wilcox filed suit to challenge her termination and won at the federal district court level, but on March 25, a divided three-judge D.C. appellate court panel placed a hold on her planned return to serve on the board. A few days later, she requested that the full court hear her case, which ultimately could end up in the U.S. Supreme Court. 

Union groups have called on Trump to nominate new board members so the agency board can resume making decisions and establishing policy.

“A working National Labor Relations Board is a critical forum for
workers to bring forward their case when their employers have broken the
law or abused their rights,” said Brent Booker, general president of the Laborers’ International Union of North America, in a statement, “With these firings, the [board] will not be able to do business until successor members are confirmed—putting an immediate halt to hearing cases that need immediate attention.”

Widespread Firings in D.C. Continue

The board firings are a small component of what critics say is a broad assault on the functionality of agencies like the Equal Employment Opportunities Commission and National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, at which hundreds of leaders and research scientists were fired April 1. The institute operates as part of the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services, which has fired more than 800 workers in what the administration and DOGE characterize as an effort to reduce “waste fraud and abuse” in federal government. 

Jordan Barab, a former deputy assistant secretary at the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration within the U.S. Labor Dept., said in his blog that the the institute provided critical research and data on construction workplace risks ranging from silica dust to musculoskeletal injuries.

“Without [the institute’s] ability to investigate outbreaks and certify respirators, more healthcare workers, firefighters, construction workers and others will get sick and die. Sooner or later this country will face another pandemic and, as with COVID, workers will be on the front lines without the benefit of research to protect them.” Barab wrote. “More workers will die of heat-related illness, and more miners will succumb to dust-related illness and other deadly hazards.”