Overview

• Preliminary injunctions pausing unfair labor practice proceedings against SpaceX, Energy Transfer and Findhelp were affirmed, keeping those cases on hold within the Fifth Circuit.
• The panel held that dual for-cause protections for NLRB administrative law judges and for-cause limits on removing board members likely violate Article II, narrowing the reach of Humphrey’s Executor.
• Judge Don Willett wrote that executive power must remain subject to presidential oversight, while Judge Jacques Wiener agreed on the merits but dissented on irreparable harm for some relief.
• The court said being subjected to a potentially unconstitutional proceeding is itself irreparable harm, a ruling legal analysts say could spur challenges at other bodies with similar protections, such as OSHRC.
• The ruling heightens prospects for Supreme Court review as broader fights over independent-agency design continue, with the NLRB’s operations already strained following the removal of Member Gwynne Wilcox.