Obama's Recess Appointments To Labor Board Are Unconstitutional, Court Rules

On Friday, a federal appeals court panel ruled that President Obama made an unconstitutional move when he bypassed the Senate to make appointments to the National Labor Relations Board. The decision was unanimous.

A 'three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit said that Obama didn't have the power to make three recess appointments last year to the National Labor Relations Board,' according to the Associated Press. The president appointed Deputy Labor Secretary Sharon Block, union lawyer Richard Griffin and NLRB counsel Terence Flynn.

Per the report:

The unanimous decision is a setback for the president, who made the appointments after Senate Republicans spent months blocking his choices for an agency they contended was biased in favor of unions.
[...]
The court's decision is a victory for Republicans and business groups that have been attacking the labor board for issuing a series of decisions and rules that make it easier for the nation's labor unions to organize new members.

For his part, Obama argued he filled the vacancies during a Senate recess, but the panel ruled otherwise, saying they were technically in session.

(h/t AP via WSJ)