NLRB’s structure is unconstitutional but its activities may proceed, Texas judge says

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The structure of the National Labor Relations Board is unconstitutional, a Texas federal judge held last week, due to the removal protections afforded to its administrative law judges and five-member board that cut against recent decisions of the U.S. Supreme Court and 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

But Judge Amos Mazzant refused to enjoin NLRB from prosecuting Aimbridge Employee Service Corp., a hospitality employment management firm, for alleged labor law violations because the board’s unconstitutional protections are severable from its broader structure.

Mazzant’s decision followed the 5th Circuit’s 2025 ruling in SpaceX v. NLRB. The 5th Circuit held that the removal protections for ALJs, who could only be removed for good cause as determined by the Merit Systems Protection Board after an opportunity for hearing before that agency, were likely unconstitutional.

The 5th Circuit decision upheld a lower court’s injunction of NLRB’s administrative processing of unfair labor practice complaints against SpaceX and other employers; NLRB ultimately abandoned its litigation against SpaceX. Mazzant said his determination followed from the 5th Circuit’s earlier conclusion.