Ruling by D.C. Circuit Takes NLRB to the Woodshed, Finds Evidence “Woefully Inadequate” To Support Board’s Order Reinstating Employee Fired for Misconduct

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, considered by many to be the most influential court in the country after the U.S. Supreme Court, has taken the unusual step of rejecting a decision by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB or Board) because there was a lack of substantial evidence to support the agency’s order reinstating an employee who was terminated for lying during an internal investigation. Worth noting, the unanimous three-judge panel in this case included Judge Merrick B. Garland, who was nominated to the Supreme Court by President Obama in 2016 but was never considered by the Senate before Congress adjourned.

The court’s decision in Cellco Partnership, d/b/a Verizon Wireless v. NLRB, No. 17-1165 (D.C. Cir. June 19, 2018), takes the NLRB to task for rubber stamping without any analysis a decision by a Board Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) who ruled the employee was unlawfully fired because of the employer’s anti-union animus. According to the D.C. Circuit, the evidence supporting that finding was “woefully inadequate.”

Members of the Center for Workplace Compliance (CWC) can read more here.