Today’s column is the second of two articles discussing decisions issued by the U.S. Supreme Court during the 2013-14 term that are significant for employers. More specifically, we address the court’s rulings on the validity of the 2012 recess appointments to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), the constitutionality of state “fair share” laws, the enforceability of contractual limitations periods in benefit plans governed by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), whether a special presumption of prudence applies to fiduciaries of Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs) and religious exemptions to the contraceptive mandate imposed under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.
Recess Appointments
In a long-awaited decision, the court in NLRB v. Noel Canning, 134 SCt 2550 (2014), unanimously invalidated President Barack Obama’s three recess appointments to the NLRB—members Sharon Block, Terence Flynn and Richard Griffin—made on Jan. 4, 2012. In doing so, the court made several rulings with respect to the Recess Appointments Clause of the U.S. Constitution, Art. II, §2, cl. 3, which provides a subsidiary method for the president to appoint officers of the United States.
