On August 19, 2025, the Fifth Circuit ruled on consolidated appeals stemming from preliminary injunctions sought by—and granted to—three companies challenging the National Labor Relations Board’s (“NLRB”) structure. Specifically, SpaceX, Energy Transfer, and Findhelp—all of whom faced unfair-labor-practice challenges—sought preliminary injunctions preventing NLRB action by arguing that the dual for-cause removal protections for both NLRB Board Members and Administrative Law Judges (“ALJ”) likely violate the U.S. Constitution.

Under the NLRB’s current structure, the President’s ability to remove Board Members and ALJs is limited; the President may remove Board Members for “neglect of duty or malfeasance in office, but for no other cause,” [1] and he or she may remove ALJs “for good cause

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