Attorney General Bonta: California Will Remain Unwavering in Our Commitment to Stand Against Trump’s Unlawful Removal of Gwynne Wilcox from the National Labor Relations Board

OAKLAND — California Attorney General Bonta today, alongside 23 attorneys general, filed an amicus brief to continue their support for Gwynne Wilcox, who is appealing her case against President Donald Trump’s unlawful attempt to remove her as a Member of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). Filed in the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, the attorneys general maintain their steadfast support for Member Wilcox and urge the Court to affirm the summary judgment by the Court of Appeals, which blocked the President from removing Wilcox.

On February 28, Attorney General Bonta, as part of a coalition of 20 attorneys general, filed his first amicus brief in Wilcox v. Trump in support of Gwynne Wilcox, who challenged the President’s unlawful removal of her position as a Member of the NLRB. Soon after, the United States District Court for the District of Columbia issued an order declaring that Member Wilcox should remain a full member of the NLRB and found the President’s action firing her to be “blatantly illegal.” The Trump administration appealed and asked for a stay to stop the ruling during the appeal, which would effectively allow her firing to take effect. The attorneys general filed another amicus brief, urging the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit to deny the administration’s request for a stay. The federal appeals court ultimately denied the Administration’s request, and today's brief supports Wilcox on the merits of her appeal.

“Time and again, we are seeing the President’s continuous attempt to trample on workers’ rights,” said Attorney General Bonta. “My fellow attorneys general and I remain unwavering in our commitment to stand against the President’s unlawful removal of Member Wilcox from NLRB.”

The NLRB is an independent federal agency that enforces U.S. labor laws related to workers’ rights, union representation, and collective bargaining. It oversees union elections, ensuring that employees can freely choose whether to be represented by a union. The Board also investigates and resolves unfair labor practice charges against employers and unions, addressing issues like retaliation, unlawful firings, and refusal to bargain in good faith. The NLRB also adjudicates disputes under the NLRA and issues rulings that shape labor law policies. To protect the NLRB from political pressure by the President, NLRB board members are appointed by the President and confirmed by Congress for staggered 5-year terms. Board members do not serve at the pleasure of the President. Federal law provides that Board members can only be removed by the President “upon notice and hearing, for neglect of duty or malfeasance in office, but for no other cause.”  

In the amicus brief, the attorneys general strongly support the affirmance of the summary judgment by the Court of Appeals, which blocked the President from removing Wilcox and highlight that the President violated the NLRA by unlawfully removing Wilcox from the Board. The attorneys general also lay out the detrimental implications of an incapacitated NLRB  should the Trump Administration not be prevented from taking away from American workers the entity that Congress authorized to ensure the ability to join a union and engage in collective bargaining, protections which workers have relied on for decades. This regulatory vacuum will be deeply troubling given the importance and scale of the work done by the NLRB. In the past decade, the NLRB reviewed nearly 3,000 allegations of unfair labor practices. 

Attorney General Bonta joins the attorneys general of Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington and Wisconsin. 

A copy of the brief can be found here.