New York Starbucks employees Ariana Cortes and Logan Karam have completed their briefing with the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals in a significant lawsuit challenging the structure of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). The case, supported by National Right to Work Foundation attorneys, argues that the NLRB's structure violates the U.S. Constitution.
The lawsuit highlights issues similar to those raised during the Trump Administration's attempts to reform the NLRB. President Trump had dismissed NLRB Board Member Gwynne Wilcox, criticizing removal protections that are also targeted in this lawsuit for constitutional violations.
Initially filed by Cortes and later joined by Karam, the suit claims that the National Labor Relations Act of 1935 infringes upon Article II of the Constitution by protecting NLRB Board Members from presidential removal at will. The appeal challenges a District Court decision which dismissed the lawsuit due to lack of legal standing without addressing whether the Labor Board’s structure aligns with constitutional requirements.