Federal District Court in D.C. Strikes Down Removal Protections for ALJs

The continued legal challenges to the constitutionality of certain aspects of the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) and National Labor Relations Act (“NLRA”) took a potentially significant turn in a decision issued by the District Court for the District of Columbia on December 10, 2024. 

In VHS Acquisition Subsidiary No. 7 v. NLRB, the district court granted summary judgment in favor of the plaintiff Massachusetts hospital, holding that tenure protections for NLRB administrative law judges (“ALJs”) are unconstitutional and that ALJs—as executive officers—must be removable at will by the NLRB, the agency that appoints them. The district court severed the unlawful provision that ALJs may only be removed for “good cause and determined by the Merit Systems Protection Board on the record after opportunity for hearing before the Board.” 

The district court, however, did not decide that the removal restriction actually inflicted harm, such that declaratory…