Volume 3, Issue 17
September 15, 2015
The DC Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the Jan. 5, 2011 appointment of Lafe Solomon as Acting General Counsel of the National Labor Relations Board was illegal. Unfortunately, the decision helps only a handful of employers.
Because of its finding, the court held that an unfair labor practice (ULP) complaint issued in the case it was hearing was invalid, and that the NLRB decision finding the employer guilty of ULPs must be vacated.
Because Solomon served as acting general counsel until Nov. 4, 2013, the court’s decision renders suspect the legality of NLRB ULP decisions issued during the period they were handled by his office.
In 2014 the Supreme Court invalidated a large number of NLRB decisions because President Obama’s appointments of board members during what he declared was a Senate recess were invalid, finding the Senate had not in fact been in recess.
Later NLRB members who were approved by the Senate reconsidered and reissued most of those decisions. The DC Court ruling on Solomon also “seems to be another decision invalidating a scheme by the Administration to get around Senate roadblocks to appointments which have been invalidated by the courts,” said attorney Peter Panken of the Epstein Becker Green law firm.
But if you were issued an ULP during this period don’t go rushing off to court quite yet. The court also held that if an employer did not raise the issue of the general counsel’s appointment early in its proceeding, that defense must be rejected.
Retail Imports Climb As Holidays Approach
AA_9-15-15_(1) 
Import cargo volumes at the nation’s major retail container ports are expected to increase 1.2% this month over the same time last year as retailers head toward the holiday season.
This is according to the monthly Global Port Tracker report that was released on Sept. 9 by the National Retail Federation and research firm Hackett Associates.
“After supply chain worries earlier this year, inventories are plentiful this fall,” NRF Vice President for Supply Chain and Customs Policy Jonathan Gold said.
“Shoppers should have no worries about finding what they’re looking for as they begin their holiday shopping,” he added.
